#1
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Guitar Center in Trouble
Not sure if everyone has already seen this:
https://www.retaildive.com/news/guit...graded/512290/ A rating of CCC- has a description of: "Default imminent with little prospect for recovery" (according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_c...t_rating_tiers) |
#2
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Yup, been about two weeks -- give or take -- since this topic last popped up and ran its course here. Not criticizing, mutts, but it is a recurring topic of discussion every time some financial magazine or paper does a story, with just enough time in between so the thread drops to about page 4. Essentially the same story has been running for years.....
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#3
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I thought this was the case previously; maybe they got some new capital but still can't operate profitably. Since most of the GC purchases that show up in posts are super discounts and "steals," it wouldn't be a surprise that they are struggling to churn enough volume to turn a profit. I don't want to see any business go down, but I always find myself making guitar purchases elsewhere than GC -- great, indy shops, or used via eBay and Craigslist.
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#4
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They've struggled for a long time.
__________________
Steve |
#5
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What a surprise (NOT!)
I’ve been waiting years for this to happen..... I hate to see local music stores, even chains , disappearing. But Guitar Center had this coming. Perhaps other people had good experiences with GC, but I sure didn’t. Their customer service is beyond awful and don’t even try to cut a deal with them. I don’t know how they survived this long. I’m wondering how this will impact Musician’s Friend..... I’ve been noticing that MF is starting to go bad as well.
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#6
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Quote:
Maybe just haven't looked in on those old posts. I've a Guitar Center nearby here and there are several in the southland here - considering how they're run and the staff they have to help, have wondered how they stay in business. I've been in a few up in the LA area that seem to have good business and good staffing, others, not so much. |
#7
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I just went into a local Guitar Center this morning and they have a depleted acoustic guitar section. I don't know if it was following some sort of sale or something, but they had VERY few guitars above entry-level models. They seem to have gone toward the < $500 variety.
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Gibsons: SJ-200, SJ-200 12-string, SJ-200 Parlor, Woody Guthrie Southern Jumbo, Hummingbird Taylors: K24ce, 517 Martin:0000-28 Ziricote Preston Thompson: O Koa |
#8
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You would need a warehouse to store all the rumors of the pending demise of CG.
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"You start off playing guitars to get girls & end up talking with middle-aged men about your fingernails" - Ed Gerhard |
#9
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Good Friday looked to have been a good day for our GC.
They moved a lot of boxes over that weekend.
__________________
Epiphone Hummingbird Pro Seagull M6 Spruce Gibson J40 (1972 era) Yamaha 365S (1980 ish) Taylor 110, 2004 Martin DC-160GTE |
#10
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One of the leading factors if not THE leading factor is that electric guitar sales are and have been dropping. All gear related to electric guitars follows and because GC is so heavily invested in that segment, there is no easy way out.
The music culture and landscape has changed in many ways just in the last ten years. Despite optimism from some folks in the business, I think generally speaking, the guitar sales will continue to fall off and that includes acoustics though at a lesser rate. In my mind, the market just isn't going to be there. The boomers are in the rear view mirror and the bubble seems to have burst. Hope I'm dreadfully wrong.
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Nothing bothers me unless I let it. Martin D18 Gibson J45 Gibson J15 Fender Copperburst Telecaster Squier CV 50 Stratocaster Squier CV 50 Telecaster |
#11
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I have a Guitar Center about three miles from my house, but I only go in there about once a year. And then usually because I am going past there anyway on my way to a mid-day meeting. Normally I prefer to visit my local independent music store, which is always a far more pleasant experience, with better stock and staff that actually knows something.
On the rare occasion I go into GC, I almost always know far more than the "sales clerks" and spend half of my time educating them. Trying any acoustic guitar is a challenge because there always seems to be some mini-concert happening in the acoustic room, or in the adjoining electric room where multiple amps are turned up to 11, shredding away. I cannot remember the last time I actually bought something there, even strings or picks. I have tried........ |
#12
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One thing to keep in mind is the collateral damage that could effect manufacturers if GC goes down. Gibson has been trying to stuff the retail channel with inventory for several years, but family businesses like Martin and Taylor depend on the inventory float as well. (Float being the amount of inventory that GC buys to display at the store level).
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Rip VanWinkle..... Some Martins, OO-18CS, 00-28 CS, 000-28 EC, 0000-28H LSH CS, D-18 CS, D-14 CS VTS Spruce over Morado, OM CS VTS Adi over Guatemalen, D-35 CS Some Gibson's, Keb Mo 00, J-35 Collectors Edition, 12-Fret AJ, Some Taylors, 612-CE 12 Fret, Custom 12-Fret Walnut, 814CE, Custom 2015 Engleman over Ovangkol GA,752ce LTD 12x12 Rainsong C1100-NS, Recording King RP 626 Schoenberg |
#13
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The cash required to finance the warehouse would make it difficult to service the rumor debt, which would edge those rumors closer to Chapter 11. Best not to warehouse them.
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Circa OM-30/34 (Adi/Mad) | 000-12 (Ger/Maple) | OM-28 (Adi/Brz) | OM-18/21 (Adi/Hog) | OM-42 (Adi/Braz) Fairbanks SJ (Adi/Hog) | Schoenberg/Klepper 000-12c (Adi/Hog) | LeGeyt CLM (Swiss/Amzn) | LeGeyt CLM (Carp/Koa) Brondel A-2 (Carp/Mad) |
#14
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If you read the MI trade magazines you get a more complete picture of the issue. Long story short, their loans mature in 2018 and they have little prospect of being able to pay the notes.
It will be interesting to see if they get an influx of cash from their investors (Bain Capital) or if they liquidate some or all of the stores to recoup what they can.
__________________
-Steve 1927 Martin 00-21 1986 Fender Strat 1987 Ibanez RG560 1988 Fender Fretless J Bass 1991 Washburn HB-35s 1995 Taylor 812ce 1996 Taylor 510c (custom) 1996 Taylor 422-R (Limited Edition) 1997 Taylor 810-WMB (Limited Edition) 1998 Taylor 912c (Custom) 2019 Fender Tele |
#15
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For those in the Northeast, this is a similar scenario to what happened with Daddy's Junky Music. In that case the investors (I believe it was GE Capital) just closed all the stores to recoup whatever they could.
__________________
-Steve 1927 Martin 00-21 1986 Fender Strat 1987 Ibanez RG560 1988 Fender Fretless J Bass 1991 Washburn HB-35s 1995 Taylor 812ce 1996 Taylor 510c (custom) 1996 Taylor 422-R (Limited Edition) 1997 Taylor 810-WMB (Limited Edition) 1998 Taylor 912c (Custom) 2019 Fender Tele |