Guitar Center To File For Bankruptcy

I can only speak to my area but with such great customer service, how could this happen lol

All jokes aside, i feel terrible for those that will lose their job. The world feels like it's burning and I can't imagine adding this to the fire.
 
not surprising, tons of retail having to file to restructure debt. missing that interest payment was a giant oof but there's still a away out of this.
 
Lets see...

When you lose 100 million a year for 13 years, this is what happens.

When everyone's favorite 2012 presidential candidate does what he does to every other business- to this business- ring up debt- pocket it and let it fail on your way out- this is what happens.

When you run a business like shit for 15-20 years this is what happens

It's only a matter of time until they can get away stiffing all the people they owe money to and go back to doing the same thing
 
If they end up shutting down some stores, hopefully some independent retailers will step in to fill the void. I suspect there's room in the market place for brick and mortar guitar stores. Somebody who isn't burdened by debt the way GC is might be able to make a go of it.
 
How 'bout them "going out of business" sales, GC? I'd like to buy a few things. On a more serious note, it's a sad day IMO. As crappy as GC was, it was a known quantity in a constantly shifting world.
 
Got an email from Musician's Friend about this (GC is their parent company), basically saying it'll be business as usual for them. Might or might not be bs IMO. I can post the whole thing if anyone is interested.

Nothing from GC itself; I've been a customer of both.
 
I got invited by email to some Guitar Center VIP Nov 22nd online sale event. I’ve only really bought from their used site over the past few years. Got some great deals on there for sure, so that’s what I’ll miss if they truly go under.
 
I wonder what will happen to their suppliers, mainly Gibson?

A bankruptcy filing means you’re not paying any bills until the creditors committee and their attorneys do a deep dive. GC will probably also be able to get money back in clawback and return all of their unsold product. That’s not going to help Gibson as it works thru it’s problems.

I certainly don’t begrudge GC. Their brick and mortar business model - while convenient for us - left them with hundreds of rent payments due each month. How could they compete?

Retailers like Sweetwater are great, I use them a lot. But I have a more emotional attachment when I find a gem of a guitar or amp in an actual music store.
I do hope this clears the landscape for more independent shops but since the closing of my last true locally owned store earlier this year, I think it’s gonna be a while before someone signs a commitment letter to lease a storefront and order enough inventory to give it a go.
 
AndyOrr said:
Retailers like Sweetwater are great, I use them a lot. But I have a more emotional attachment when I find a gem of a guitar or amp in an actual music store.
I do hope this clears the landscape for more independent shops but since the closing of my last true locally owned store earlier this year, I think it’s gonna be a while before someone signs a commitment letter to lease a storefront and order enough inventory to give it a go.
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Yeah, buying a guitar without having the chance to hold it is like buying a mail-order bride. You might get lucky, but it's a huge leap of faith.... Sweetwater has a good rep, though, and you can return one that just doesn't blow yer skirt up. The thing is, GC did the WalMart thing, and buried many of the locals. I guess we will see who/what fills the vacuum....
 
I bought my main current guitar from GC, a used EJ strat. Many of the guitars there are so not set up they're a drag to play.

In this covid moment though, I'm super shy about physically going to a store to try stuff anyway. How do you disinfect a guitar? How do you try one without touching it?

There's something semi-locally I'm pretty interested in, and my wife let me know she'd be more upset about me physically checking it out than about me spending the money. (It's not that much, as guitars go, but it's a lot relative to most expenses, short of a car, roof, etc.)

I'm talking to the store about how we could arrange things; I have at least one potential trade-in too, maybe more. They could ship it, but that's significant extra cost and risk. Maybe arrange curbside, check it out amp-less in my car, while they take my stuff in and check it.
 
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