Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

U.S. retailer Guitar Center files for bankruptcy


Recommended Posts

U.S. retailer Guitar Center files for bankruptcy

 

Guitar Center Inc, the largest U.S. retailer of music instruments and equipment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Saturday, as music lovers moved their shopping online during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The retailer has negotiated to have a total of $375 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders and intends to raise $335 million in new senior secured notes, the company said refini.tv/3fpM2UC in a statement.

 

Earlier this month the company reached a restructuring agreement with key stakeholders that includes debt reduction by nearly $800 million and new equity investments of up to $165 million to recapitalize the company.

 

The company in a court filing said it has between $1 billion and $10 billion of both assets and liabilities.

 

Guitar Center, which owns nearly 300 stores across the country, said business operations will continue without any interruption.

  • Sad 1

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

Link to comment
Share on other sites



The last time I was in a Guitar Center, I was looking at the Alesis ION and the salesman was trying to get me to buy a YAMAHA MOTIF. Saying the ION was a performance synth. I think he knew he could make more money i.e. commission selling me the MOTIF then the ION. Even tried to lower the price. I thanked him for his time and trying, but I said no thank you and left, and have never gone back.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I visit a few GC locations around the Chicago western suburbs, and their keyboard inventory has been vastly depleted. Plenty of digital pianos but few workstations or synths. Not many people in the stores. Empty display racks, empty walls.
  • Like 1

Michael

Montage 8, Logic Pro X, Omnisphere, Diva, Zebra 2, etc.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Accoding to CNN this is a Chapter 11 reorganization with a fresh infusion of capitol, and they expecting to emerge still in business.

 

Many of it's 289 locations are in struggling malls, and the article infers that those may have to go. The one I frequent is across the street from a Costco, and has been quite busy - although I admit I haven't been there since the pandemic. In the last couple of years I've bought a DM12 and a NI Traktor controller there among other things.

 

I hope it survives.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had posted this a few days ago on the guitar forum, it's a good, IMO, explanation of what is going on for anyone who is curious and has an extra 14 minutes

 

[video:youtube]

 

Yeah here it all is... a wrap-up of GC's past and current financial issues. Thanks for the post :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had posted this a few days ago on the guitar forum, it's a good, IMO, explanation of what is going on for anyone who is curious and has an extra 14 minutes

 

This is a good explanation, but also a good candidate for using a faster Playback Speed on YT, so as not to devote a full 14 minutes and still get all the content.

 

 

My big question is: will this bankruptcy affect black friday sales?!?!? Hoping for some good coupons and sales!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Growing up in L.A. I have fond memories of the original Vox Guitar Center that was just a few door down the street from the now famous Hollywood GC with it Vintage Room and handprints of famous rockers. GC was also a place a lot of people got there start selling music instruments and then left GC work in other store and some manage other stores. To me GC started falling apart in the early 2000's as they started taking away the ability of staff to make deal and take in trades. As time went on it got to be where only store managers could make or approve deals. Then last few years the stores are so computer controlled you pretty much know the price of something before you even step in the store because they aren't going to budge. Only deal is to be friends with a manager who will hit the computer and find a cheaper price that they can then do a price match deal.

 

GC also started hiring less and less knowledgable staff and putting all kinds of sales quotas on them. So even good staff didn't seem to last long. GC also blew a lot of money trying to buyout it's store competition. What was a local music store where I grew up ended up growing up very big not by opening other locations but expanding into high end pro audio and computer sales and mainly selling to the large recording and film studios. They were like the biggest Apple dealer in SoCal and most people didn't even know they sold computers, but they would sell truckload of Apples to film studios. Well GC opened a big store in my area and was doing okay, but they decided they wanted it all. So GC went after the store and finally got the owner to sell. Even one wondered if GC would convert the store a GC no they just closed the place, let all the staff go, and even told the owner to try and sell all the stock for any price he want because GC didn't need the inventory. After all this happen I talked to one of the old employees and he said all GC want the the customer list and contacts at the big recording and film studios. GC spend a fortune for a basically a mailing list. Dumbass moves like that is why GC once again is going bankrupt.

 

It wish the court told GC to just go chapter seven and it's over, but GC once again gets to screw instrument and accessaries companies, landlords, and staff. These big companies (and industries) are suppose to be smart have great business minds at the executive level and on their boards of directors, but they don't and everyone else pays the price. I don't think its right to bailout these big businesses, let them die and smaller companies come in and replace them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guitar Center doesn't want anything over $1500 in stock for keyboards which hurts guys that are pros on here and else where. I know a guy over at our local store that explained it, they don't want inventory sitting around. As you guys know we have to buy stuff all sight unseen through online retail and I am sure it isn't necessarily GC's fault. The stores are different depending on your area though so you get mixed results in inventory I find. Ours here locally has gone down hill and aims at the home market, not the pro our semi pro market which is our circle. Personally I supported them but they never have gear I want so I go to Sweetwater. There is a good brick and mortar store here that is local. They have all the top lines so I will shop there most of the time if I do buy local..

 

One thing that is hurting the guitar market is rock and roll hasn't been the music of the streets in 35 years. Kids don't play instruments at all either so that part of the market is reserved for guys 40 and up. They have the income and other guys I know are just collectors . Piano market is dead as kids don't take lessons either, maybe that is a different issue but I can't help thinking part of is influenced by the home market. FB market place has ruined the used market also. I know there were guys here on the forum that would be glad to get rid of GC also......I know some personally but music is a disposable commodity now to most people so I am not surprised. There are a lot of factors on the death of Guitar Center I am sure.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guitar Center doesn't want anything over $1500 in stock for keyboards which hurts guys that are pros on here and else where. I know a guy over at our local store that explained it, they don't want inventory sitting around.

 

If the GC brass didn't demand top dollar for used gear and their guys were allowed to bargain on the price then they wouldn't have inventory sitting around. Their own damn fault (the brass, not the clerks).

 

As you guys know we have to buy stuff all sight unseen through online retail and I am sure it isn't necessarily GC's fault. The stores are different depending on your area though so you get mixed results in inventory I find. Ours here locally has gone down hill and aims at the home market, not the pro our semi pro market which is our circle. Personally I supported them but they never have gear I want so I go to Sweetwater. There is a good brick and mortar store here that is local. They have all the top lines so I will shop there most of the time if I do buy local..

 

I bought way more stuff out of the local stores than from the GC store. GC used to be one of my regular stops but I quit going there because I was disappointed one too many times at the poor selection of keyboards. Anytime GC got used gear that was valuable they shipped it to a much larger store where better customers could be found. So the smaller GC stores never had any decent used gear.

 

One thing that is hurting the guitar market is rock and roll hasn't been the music of the streets in 35 years. Kids don't play instruments at all either so that part of the market is reserved for guys 40 and up. They have the income and other guys I know are just collectors . Piano market is dead as kids don't take lessons either, maybe that is a different issue but I can't help thinking part of is influenced by the home market.

 

Too many kids today are looking for shortcuts and don't want to put the work in learning to play. Guitars are popular because they are easy to play. Look on bandmix.com and it is heavily dominated by guitar players. Guitar players are a dime a dozen. Kids learn enough on guitar to "get by" then quit the lessons. Too much focus on instant gratification. That is sorely evident on modern music, I don't hear the expression and taste in playing like past generations.

 

You can be a proficient guitar player in a year, it takes many years to be a proficient piano player much less one who learned how to work in an ensemble setting. Ever hear the comedy skit "Boot to the Head"? The impatient antagonist martial arts student says it all "A YEAR? I wanna beat people up RIGHT NOW!"

 

Precious few kids put the years of work in learning to play keyboards. Even fewer know how to play Hammond. When I moved I walked into a music scene that was hungry for keyboard players - there are some around but they won't gig anymore. The sole music store with keyboards is a long established large store that has been successful at focusing on home, worship, and educational customers but not to the rock-n-roll musician. I'm now playing in a 2nd band, a southern rock band that really welcomes the piano and hammond playing that I do. Good $$$ too.

 

FB market place has ruined the used market also. I know there were guys here on the forum that would be glad to get rid of GC also......I know some personally but music is a disposable commodity now to most people so I am not surprised.

 

To retail stores, used gear is a low profit commodity. GC has too much emphasis on new gear that brings higher profit, a fault of their corporate mindset. Twenty years ago a local music store closed because the owner found better profit selling desirable gear on eBay than to walk-in customers. He found no business sense to continue the lease (the storefront STILL sits vacant). The well known local stores dealing the used gear stay in business because they have a steady stream of customers, or they hawk vintage stuff like guitars and amps at guitar shows in large cities like Dallas or Philadelphia where customers with deeper pockets can be found. People selling used gear got tired of the poor offers from local music stores and found better money for them on eBay/Reverb and internet classifieds like Craigslist.

 

What ruined the internet used gear market was con artists (not you) demanding top dollar for vintage gear, most which were broken and never properly restored. I've seen outrageous listings sit unsold for YEARS. I've pretty much given up on classifieds like FB and Craigslist, there is way too much garbage - people are using them as a dumping ground for stuff that has little value. Sure there is the occasional bargain but they are snatched up VERY quickly. I know of guys who make a buck at flipping gear by sitting close to Craigslist listings.

 

There are a lot of factors on the death of Guitar Center I am sure.

 

That would make a pretty big list. The primary factor is the corporate mindset. Being a public corporation they ultimately became too affixed on short term profits and ignored the customer. We saw that with the poster who wanted an Alesis Ion and the GC sales clerk pushing him to buy a Yamaha Motif. Same thing that ruined the Gibsons and Fenders of the 1970s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The two GC's within 90 miles of me never have anything in the keyboard department worth trying. Mostly cheap DP's and lowest end synths. Most of the damage to the industry is not from a loss of music instrument outlets, it is from so many manufacturers being owed huge sums that they will never get back.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know I pop into these threads when they come up to say I'm lucky with my local GC.

 

Before they opened back up a few months ago to walk in traffic, they did curb-side delivery.... still do if you desire.

 

They have been BUSY. They have masks if you don't have one, and no one's bitchiness about it. They are also limiting people in the rooms that are closed off (the recording equip room and the acoustic guitar room).

I purchased my MODX8 there recently.

 

One thing they have done, is make sure the place is still inviting. i.e. no blank walls. The one good thing, is my very long time GC guy is still there. Know his way around keys and software, etc..

Again, I'm lucky with this one.

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I visit a few GC locations around the Chicago western suburbs, and their keyboard inventory has been vastly depleted. Plenty of digital pianos but few workstations or synths. Not many people in the stores. Empty display racks, empty walls.

 

 

Lombard or Aurora? I confess to trying the equipment at GC, then driving over to Sam Ash to buy it....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I visit a few GC locations around the Chicago western suburbs, and their keyboard inventory has been vastly depleted. Plenty of digital pianos but few workstations or synths. Not many people in the stores. Empty display racks, empty walls.

 

 

Lombard or Aurora? I confess to trying the equipment at GC, then driving over to Sam Ash to buy it....

 

Yep, those are them. Sometimes I get up to Arlington Hts. Sam Ash can be better, and I think they have more gear right now, but there's never anyone in there these days. The past several times I've been in there, I haven't even run into an employee in the keyboard/recording dept.

Michael

Montage 8, Logic Pro X, Omnisphere, Diva, Zebra 2, etc.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GC in San Jose on Stevens Creek always had a really nice keyboard inventory. This was on or before 2012. Not sure if it"s true today.

 

For smaller markets I can completely understand how you couldn"t stock a $50k showroom when there is maybe a 24 month turnover.

I think GC will go the way of Fry"s. A hollowed out shell that couldn"t adapt. They"ll limp along for people who only want to go in to get

a good deal on a craftsman tool set.

J a z z  P i a n o 8 8

--

Yamaha C7D

Montage8 | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven

K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If GC were really gone, the main thing I'll miss is a very nice way to get used gear. Much safer and easier for the buyer than Craigslist, considering you can buy from any GC in the country and return locally within 30 days for any reason.

 

Keyboard-wise, the closest store to me had become an absolute joke. A few Yamahas, a couple Korgs and a smattering of small synths and a lot of controllers. No Nord, Kurzweil or anything off the beaten track. Almost all the stage pianos were low end models. Half the time the keyboards had no power cord connected or didn't have an amp/speaker hooked up. (If I was seriously looking I'd bring my good headphones in any case)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems it wasn"t so long ago that a number of forum members were grumbling about GC wiping out the independent mom & pop stores. Or was that another predatory mega conglomerate music corporation? :idk:

 

 

There were two independent music stores in Maryland, that Guitar Center bought out, and took over their buildings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those of you who don't want to waste a trip to GC to find that they don't have anything, Just filter by store on their website when you click on a category. You will see exactly what they have on hand, especially used stuff.

"For instance" is not proof.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sweetwater seems to be doing well without having stores in every major city. There's quite a few online retailers.

 

I'd imagine it's harder for GC to maintain so many stores and compete with other retailers both brick and mortar and online.

 

There were two independent music stores in Maryland, that Guitar Center bought out, and took over their buildings.

I fondly remember Veneman Music. It shut down when short-lived MARS Music and GC came along.

 

Thankfully, here in the DMV, Washington Music Center aka Chuck Levins is s standing tall and they carry just about everything. :thu::cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the North Bay Area we have Bananas at Large, which from outward appearances seems to be going strong. It's a music store where "everybody knows your name." Would be a real shame if the day comes when stores like that no longer exist. For that reason, I buy stuff there whenever I can.

 

Bananas has a respectable keyboard department, but it's far from comprehensive. 90% Roland and Yamaha. So it's no substitute for the San Francisco GC which has always had a well stocked wall of synths you could fiddle with for hours on end. In Bananas, the staff are OCD about trying stuff out. You have to pass a veritable background check before they'll let you touch something. By contrast, many's the time I was in SF GC and homeless people would walk in and spend hours playing keyboards. The most GC staff would do is tell them to turn down if it got too loud (which it always did).

 

Bananas' San Rafael store recently started what they're calling a Roland "store within a store." Basically every Roland model, and a guy on staff whose job is to be the Roland expert. Obviously, Roland's got a role in attempting to make this financially viable. Bananas staff like to say it's the "first of its kind" in the USA. Nice if you like Roland stuff, but it also speaks to the difficulty of a brick and mortar music store trying to provide a broad palette of keyboard playing experiences. With countless youtube videos of self-appointed "reviewers" trying to outdo each other dissecting every new keyboard, maybe the laying on of hands isn't as important as it used to be?

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fondly remember Veneman Music. It shut down when short-lived MARS Music and GC came along.

 

Well, GC made an offer Ted Veneman couldn't refuse and bought him out.

 

Thankfully, here in the DMV, Washington Music Center aka Chuck Levins is standing tall and they carry just about everything. :thu::cool:

 

I might have to check that place out. ;):laugh::wave:

  • Like 1
:nopity:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...