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Guitar Center Chapter 11 Imminent

#141
Buying anything at Guitar Center is safe, maybe don't buy the extended warranty, well, never buy the extended warranty. Hold off on purchasing gift cards, cash out your gift cards now, maybe reconsider their house brands if you're concerned about the one year warranty or whatever it is. Other than that, business as usual and maybe 20% of the low performing stores will close.
 
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#142
ElMon said:
So, I went through Chapter 11/13 while I worked at Mars Music. Helped put up all the fixtures/gear in the months before it opened, and was there when the government liquidators came in.

THAT did not end well for the workers who were invested/had PTO owed and bonuses/etc. I was a young buck back then, so I wasn't screwed as bad/didn't have that much skin in the game.

My questions to those here who might know more about this process:

  • How is this different?
  • Are there examples of companies filing Chapter 11 and then rebounding to successful organizations that are still around today?
Oh, I did a year or so working at GC. Think a lot of the anti-GC vitriol comes from former employees like me who remembers the endlessly creative ways they had in NOT paying your commission.

Still look back with fondness on those days though. Getting the corporate reaming was almost worth it for all the networking/gigs.

Hope for all their current employees that they weather the storm
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Ive heard this before at GC...the networking is a BIG thing imo, especially as many mom and pops are gone (though some will re-emerge when covid gets under control).

IF GC goes under, they will be replaced by another Corp type is my guess.

But dang, the used gear thing is a huge plus for many of us...in fact its genius and you can bet investors will see they strong points of GC, let alone the music manufacturers who need GC big time (as well as Musicians Friend).

I am betting they will survive....also betting the market will be flooded with lower end gear that sold in crazy big numbers (that eventually will end up in pawns, CL etc).
 
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#143
PinoyBoy said:
Macy's is a great example. They've mastered the art of bankruptcy. GC will be around for many, many, many more years. Some stores will close though so that sucks.
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Yep....like i mentioned, how does THREE GC stores survive in Kansas City area?

Otoh, these shopping malls need tenants badly right now...look at independent restaurants/bars right now....latest is 85% will close if some relief package does not go thru Congress very soon...i mean cmon, the stock market is thriving, no panic from Wall st etc...MANY investors have done very well thru the pandemic.
 
#144
skycruiser said:
I see 11 on the map in the Dallas area and 1 Sam Ash. They could easily cut back the number of stores and have only a minimal impact on access by customers. Consolidating down to 5 or 6 stores in the area would make them look more full as well. My recent trip was pretty sad - down to 50% inventory levels. I didn't play anything because I didn't want to go through the sanitation process. I hope they do make it through. I'm not a huge customer but I might reconsider that in the future, just to help keep a local "discount" store open. As much as I support the idea of it - I just don't have the budget to support boutique shops. Probably need to pick up a GC CC to take advantage of the extended payoff options like I do at Sweetwater.
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WHAT? Eleven GC in the Dallas area? Makes no sense to me..
 
#146
ElMon said:
Bain Capital's business model had me thinking 'that's gotta be an Alex Jones article' when I first heard it. Far as I can go there I suppose.

Sounds like socialism for corporations and bootstrapping for the workers
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What it really is is wealth extraction. It's a 'mining' vision of business, as opposed to a 'farming' vision.
And it should be illegal. No corporate officer or stockholder should ever be allowed to extract the wealth that is not really wealth, but debt. Debt is supposed to be utilized to (metaphorically) till the soil, plant the seed, water the crop. And then when it comes to fruition, the debt gets paid and the investors get to take their share.

Instead, the leveraging system allows companies to take on massive debt in order to fulfill some business plan, the original investors walk away with huge bonuses, and then the company struggled for a few years and then tanks. CompUSA and Circuit City followed that exact model, enriching a few while saddling thousands with staggering debt.

I could go on. But that's for a different audience.
 
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#147
coyote1 said:
What it really is is wealth extraction. It's a 'mining' vision of business, as opposed to a 'farming' vision.
And it should be illegal. No corporate officer or stockholder should ever be allowed to extract the wealth that is not really wealth, but debt. Debt is supposed to be utilized to (metaphorically) till the soil, plant the seed, water the crop. And then when it comes to fruition, the debt gets paid and the investors get to take their share.

Instead, the leveraging system allows companies to take on massive debt in order to fulfill some business plan, the original investors walk away with huge bonuses, and then the company struggled for a few years and then tanks. CompUSA and Circuit City followed that exact model, enriching a few while saddling thousands with staggering debt.

I could go on. But that's for a different audience.
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This is how it seems to a layman. Well said.

Maybe I DO need an Ibanez 6-string bass and a Markbass combo in solidarity
 
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#149
Smooth_bass88 said:
I've had the opposite experience. I bought my first US Lakland there at a great price (used) as well as my US Ampeg SVT at a great price (used). I bought a Fender five string there a year and a half ago at a great price; I ended up having to sell it (reverb) and I got ALL my money back. Not to mention the times I've walked in there and gotten great deals on accessories (a set of four Schaller tuners for like $40) and bought bass strings when they were having a sale at about half price. I just bought a Boss TU3 tuner brand new with Boss PSB 120 power supply with daisy chain for $100 ($50 off!).
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I know my experience is just very personal. I prefer a music store that has more variety, rather than just a higher concentration of guitars and guitar gear.
 
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#150
DavidEdenAria said:
Yep....like i mentioned, how does THREE GC stores survive in Kansas City area?
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'Cause it's a long way from 119th/Metcalf to 39th/291; most OP/Leawood residents wouldn't be caught dead in Independence, and anything north of the river might as well be on the Moon(that store, however, has to be one of the worst). How does Big Dudes stay open, aside from the fact that they've had midtown sown up for almost 50 years? I miss Midwestern, and Found Sound is on hiatus, I believe. When I'm back there, I just go to Lawrence to see my boys at Richard's and give Mass Street a walk-through. On the way, the codgers at Guitar Dock deserve my accessories money.
 
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#152
I'll be curious to see if any of the six GC's in reach of my house (Rockville MD, Silver Spring MD, Laurel MD, Fairfax VA, Seven Corners, VA, or Alexandria VA) end up closing. I only really visit the first two and prefer the independents like Make 'N Music of Frederick, MD, Victor Litz of Gaithersburg, MD, and Chuck Levins in Wheaton, MD.
 
#153
selowitch said:
I'll be curious to see if any of the six GC's in reach of my house (Rockville MD, Silver Spring MD, Laurel MD, Fairfax VA, Seven Corners, VA, or Alexandria VA) end up closing. I only really visit the first two and prefer the independents like Make 'N Music of Frederick, MD, Victor Litz of Gaithersburg, MD, and Chuck Levins in Wheaton, MD.
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I would think Silver Spring is the most at risk, maybe one of the VA locations to consolidate. Also could see Glenn Burnie or Towson closing depending on which is the lower performing store.
 
#158
fishdude101101 said:
Email from Guitar Center:

Thank you for being a loyal customer of Guitar Center. We genuinely appreciate your business.

I'm pleased to share that the Guitar Center Company has announced an agreement to strengthen our financial structure which will allow us to serve you better for the long term. During this time there is likely to be press coverage, so we wanted you to hear from us what to expect.
  • Our stores, e-commerce, lessons and call centers are open and available to you as we continue to operate our business as usual.

  • We will continue to serve your needs as usual, therefore, customer service, financing with your GC Card and Pro Coverage remain unaffected.
To facilitate this financial process, we will voluntarily file for restructuring under Chapter 11 which we expect to complete quickly. During this time, we will continue all of our operations without interruption.

Most importantly, we are staying focused on helping more customers make music. We continue to have the gear you want and need, with new gear arriving regularly and we are here to support your holiday shopping needs as we have exciting holiday promotions ready for you.

If you have questions or concerns please feel free to email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-498-7882.
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I got that email too. Maybe it's real this time
 

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