end of guitar centre?

+1. The Sky Is Not Falling.

Is too!!!! This is from Forbes. As read to the mournful sound of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" ;)

Investing 12/03/2014 @ 8:31AM 4,315 views
Distressed Debt: Chassix, Connacher, Guitar Center Join LCD's Restructuring Watchlist
Matthew Fuller , Contributor
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Chassix, Connacher Oil and Gas, and Guitar Center Guitar Center this week joined LCD’s Restructuring Watchlist, which tracks companies with recent credit defaults or downgrades into junk territory, issuers with debt trading at deeply distressed levels, as well as those that have recently hired restructuring advisers or entered into creditor negotiations.
Guitar Center, a retailer of music products in the US, faces an uphill battle as comparable same-store sales are down and the company struggles to compete with online providers. A bond offering in March is part of a broad recapitalization effort. On Nov. 19, ahead of an earnings call, the company’s CEO resigned and a new CEO was appointed.
The aforementioned bonds inched up, but the distressed securities level lands the company on LCD’s Watchlist.
The complete and updated version of LCD’s Restructuring Watchlist is printed below.
– Matt Fuller
 

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I hope they all shut down.... Sams Ass as well

I prefer the days when everyone went to the hardware store where the owner knew your name and not Home Depot
 
"I hope they all shut down.... Sams Ass as well

I prefer the days when everyone went to the hardware store where the owner knew your name and not Home Depot."

I'm old enough to remember those days. I have to admit I like my local hardware store. I also like HD and Lowes. I live at Lowes. As far as Guitar Center, I stopped going years ago. I've rarely ever had a good experience in one, regardless of which state it's been in. Cold as ice. Here in TX the ones I've been in just look like dives inside and the help is basically non-existent. I guess if you know what you want, get it and check out, it works for people.

Odd that their demise is trumpeted when I just heard a new one is being built in the town I'm currently in, Denton, TX. If that is true I feel bad for the local music stores, and the drum shop, in particular.
 
Is too!!!! This is from Forbes. As read to the mournful sound of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" ;)

Investing 12/03/2014 @ 8:31AM 4,315 views
Distressed Debt: Chassix, Connacher, Guitar Center Join LCD's Restructuring Watchlist
Matthew Fuller , Contributor
Comment Now
Follow Comments
Chassix, Connacher Oil and Gas, and Guitar Center Guitar Center this week joined LCD’s Restructuring Watchlist, which tracks companies with recent credit defaults or downgrades into junk territory, issuers with debt trading at deeply distressed levels, as well as those that have recently hired restructuring advisers or entered into creditor negotiations.
Guitar Center, a retailer of music products in the US, faces an uphill battle as comparable same-store sales are down and the company struggles to compete with online providers. A bond offering in March is part of a broad recapitalization effort. On Nov. 19, ahead of an earnings call, the company’s CEO resigned and a new CEO was appointed.
The aforementioned bonds inched up, but the distressed securities level lands the company on LCD’s Watchlist.
The complete and updated version of LCD’s Restructuring Watchlist is printed below.
– Matt Fuller

From 12/9/15- CFO explanation why the stores won't close.
http://www.musicincmag.com/News/2014/141217/141217_GC.html
 
I hope they all shut down.... Sams Ass as well

I prefer the days when everyone went to the hardware store where the owner knew your name and not Home Depot

Totally agree man. The GC near us (Somerville Circle) is the worst of them all.

Speaking of Hardware Stores, do you go to Warrenville Paint & HW on Mountain Blvd.? Love that place, also, I go to Malanga's Farm, Bardy's Farm for food, small local pharmacy in Martinsville and etc. - all small local businesses (BTW - Steve Maxwell's is around the corner from where I work in NYC)

I think if more people would just take the time to seek out local businesses and stick with them, in the long term, they will save the money they think they are saving with these horrific conglomerates.
 
I really like to frequent locally owned businesses as much as possible. But I have had good experiences at the local GC at least so far. I went to a local music store here early on and was not treated all that well. Also got some advice that I ended up realizing was not good advice. Have gone to another local store and have had great results. The problem with this one is the lack of inventory on used equipment. GC really is a good source for used. I think it is hard to paint every situation with a broad brush.
 
I like my local GC. I don't care for the middle school kids in there thrashing gear but the people that work there are knowledgeable and very helpful. Same with my local Sam's Ass. We can't all shop at pricey boutique NY stores. Every time I try to shop at my local independent owned music store I have to deal with the ass of an owner and am promptly reminded why I don't go there.

There are some great shops on the East Valley but they're all closed on Sundays when I'm on that part of town.
 
From 12/9/15- CFO explanation why the stores won't close.
http://www.musicincmag.com/News/2014/141217/141217_GC.html

we have more than 370 stores that are generating cash flow, there is no way in a million years that a bank or bankruptcy court is going to shut the business down.

And this is why GC won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

They may have to re-structure. There may be MORE layoffs at the corporate level. They may have to go through the courts to get debt relief. But they won't get shut down, even if they file for bankruptcy.
 
I have mixed feelings about this one if it is true. I've heard many say GC has been dying a slow death for years though.

Yes, I get annoyed sometimes at the guy working the counter in the drum room. He may know a lot about drums or he may not. It all depends on who is there at the time. He may be some guitar player assigned to the room to just ring up sales and know absolutely nothing about drums.

Their 2 week hold policy on items they just bought and put on the floor is nonsense. And around here they HAVE forced out the mom and pop shops in the area and a lot of pawn shops can't beat their prices.

But where I live in Fort Worth, Texas, they are about 5 minutes away and they do have the best selections of drum and equipment around. I want to check the cymbals out for myself and maybe play a drum if I am interested in buying. They have recently they have increased the number and kinds of sticks and drumheads they have available to sell so it's convenient.

Typically there's a lul on some days where a guitar or accessories guy is covering the drum department. Drum guy has to go get lunch after all. They do their best.

And that's actually a law in my city. I've had so many people climb up my a%% about it. In my store its... I think 30 days? But it differs state to state. The pawn shops in my area follow it too. It gives the police ample time to investigate thefts.
 
Typically there's a lul on some days where a guitar or accessories guy is covering the drum department. Drum guy has to go get lunch after all. They do their best

Most always I go to GC late afternoons on weekends or early evenings during the weekdays. Not really around lunch time. But I see your point. Could be short handed that day, etc. It's odd that seems to happening a lot lately.

In Texas there is no shop or pawn shop law that says a shop has to hold an item for any length of time (except guns I believe), so if a pawnbroker buys something and puts it out on the floor to sell that day, I can buy it that day and walk out the store with it that day. If he buys an item and keeps it in the back room inventory for any length of time, it's his business. Whatever rules are in effect governing holding used equipment are the store's or company's rules, not the law. Or so I am told it's that way in Texas.

Regarding GC management or mismanagement, as we say down in the southern neck of the woods, some managers "can't manage a two-hole outhouse in an Exlax factory."

For me, going to GC is always iffy, at best. They may not have what I'm looking for in stock and the sales staff may be inexperienced, but I may get lucky and find exaclty what I need and run into great sales staff. You never know.

It's good that a Music Go Around store is close by. They buy and sell 2nd-hand musical instruments. If you want to sell something, they give you exactly 1/2 of what they can turn around and sell it for. I've bought a snare stand, a drum throne, and several cymbal stands there and have saved a lot of cash. Depending on how "used" it is, they mark the price accordingly. I recently saw a vintage champagne sparkle Slingerland 3 piece kit there (kick, ride tom, and floor) marked $350 in pretty good condition.

I was in there Sunday and was talking with the owner about GC. He chuckled and said he has a lot of GC employees who are his customers. When asked why they come to him since they work for GC, he smiled and said he can give them a better price on used gear than GC. Oh.
 
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Totally agree man. The GC near us (Somerville Circle) is the worst of them all.

Speaking of Hardware Stores, do you go to Warrenville Paint & HW on Mountain Blvd.? Love that place, also, I go to Malanga's Farm, Bardy's Farm for food, small local pharmacy in Martinsville and etc. - all small local businesses (BTW - Steve Maxwell's is around the corner from where I work in NYC)

I think if more people would just take the time to seek out local businesses and stick with them, in the long term, they will save the money they think they are saving with these horrific conglomerates.

yes I frequent Warrenville Hardware.... was there today getting some ice melter
I also frequent Bardy Farms .... they are a blessing in our area

... and yes that GC at the circle is an embarrassment to the history of music stores ... I reluctantly went in for the first time this past Dec. for a last minute Christmas gift for a friend and walked out after probably a minute empty handed shaking my head at the monumental amount of cluelessness the staff collectively displayed ... I'll never return
 
yes I frequent Warrenville Hardware.... was there today getting some ice melter
I also frequent Bardy Farms .... they are a blessing in our area

... and yes that GC at the circle is an embarrassment to the history of music stores ... I reluctantly went in for the first time this past Dec. for a last minute Christmas gift for a friend and walked out after probably a minute empty handed shaking my head at the monumental amount of cluelessness the staff collectively displayed ... I'll never return

It makes me wish there was a Steve Maxwell's in Central Jersey. Given the lower operating overhead than NY and Chicago, I think they would do well - there are lots of people who appreciate a quality shop, just this forum alone is proof.

I've yet to have a good GC or Samass experience in NY or NJ, I hate explaining things to salespeople...
 
From 12/9/15- CFO explanation why the stores won't close.
http://www.musicincmag.com/News/2014/141217/141217_GC.html

So you do realize that your evidence of financial bliss and stability is the Chief Financial Officer for Guitar Center???? Ya think he's a bit biased? He doesn't have to paint a truthful picture as they are a private company. They pay him to do one thing, keep it running. One negative word from him could cost him his job and cost the company millions in increased borrowing rates.

GC may indeed make it and for the employees I really hope they do. However, things are not rosy as depicted. And when it comes to what a bankruptcy court might do, never say never. All that said, I hope you are right but I've got that slow death Radio Shack feeling here.
 
...lots of complaints about guitar center...perhaps true to a certain extent...

...on the other hands, gc has, imho, played a positive role in a number of ways, whether or not one would agree with every way...to wit: "sessions" series/"drum-off" series/large selection/pricing check/30-day return policy/chance to view-test the full panoply of various musical instruments (including an assortment of percussion items)...

...yes, perhaps uninterested/ill informed staff...but that's what the internet/dw is there for, no?...and would one really pay the freight to have gc hire high quality personnel?...
 
That guy looks like he says "GC makes 200 mil profit a year" and later "1.6 billion in debts" . If I am correct , not enough money to pay off the debt. Interest must be killing them.
 
So you do realize that your evidence of financial bliss and stability is the Chief Financial Officer for Guitar Center???? Ya think he's a bit biased? He doesn't have to paint a truthful picture as they are a private company. They pay him to do one thing, keep it running. One negative word from him could cost him his job and cost the company millions in increased borrowing rates.

GC may indeed make it and for the employees I really hope they do. However, things are not rosy as depicted. And when it comes to what a bankruptcy court might do, never say never. All that said, I hope you are right but I've got that slow death Radio Shack feeling here.

^^^This!

I'll never understand the "It cant happen because it hasn't happened yet" even when people are pointing that its currently happening!

Having said that.....I do love my 13 inch OCDP snare!
 
Please. The article was a post-industrialist, anti-capitalist crock centered around the author's economically uninformed notion that corporate restructuring destroyed profit margins for franchised stores. .....

P.S. Just wanted to get my foot in the door and mention that here in 'MURICA...


That was some damn good satire right there, intentional or not. Do you also write for the WSJ editorial page? They gots duh best (with the exception of WND).
 
There are 2 GC stores in Las Vegas, the one I go to is the BIG one on the south Strip, this store is the size of a Walmart. The people there are great, but as another poster mentioned, they are sometimes working in a different dept than what their expertise is, so you better know what you need when you go there. Having said that, the drum dept is enormous, with literally several hundred cymbals hanging on the walls ready for a test "ride", never short of heads, sticks and accessories, accessories and you are always welcome to spend all day playing if you so desire, no one will bug you!
 
There are 2 GC stores in Las Vegas, the one I go to is the BIG one on the south Strip, this store is the size of a Walmart. The people there are great, but as another poster mentioned, they are sometimes working in a different dept than what their expertise is, so you better know what you need when you go there. Having said that, the drum dept is enormous, with literally several hundred cymbals hanging on the walls ready for a test "ride", never short of heads, sticks and accessories, accessories and you are always welcome to spend all day playing if you so desire, no one will bug you!

No wonder the Mom Pop stores go under. I too like to be left alone in a big place and just tinker, maybe have a play. Try doing that in a M&P....ull be shown the door after 5 mins.
 
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