Guitar Center In The News

[hawkeye17]

Not in a good way either. The company is on Standard and Poor's "Weakest Links" list of the 140 companies that are most likely to go bankrupt sometime in 2009 due to a large pool of debt. They're listed about halfway down. Some other's are a surprise too...tough times :/ :

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2008-03-21-sp-weakest-links-list_N.htm

[leofenderbender]

Looks like a buying opportunity for inventory [in market terms].

[jazzandmetal?]

:knitting







:munch

Bain Capital just bought them for a ton of money on a credit deal that wouldn't allow them to sell GC very quickly and it would probably be at a loss. Bain isn't in the business of losing money. Read this article on the acquisition:
http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/financial-markets-investing-securities/5513054-1.html

[stark]

Panavison is more of a big deal. They provide most of the camera gear for feature film production.

Adam Stark

[BluesForDan]

no way. I actually bought some strings, for the first time ever, tonight from my local guitar center.

I usually get them at my friend's shop, but i totally spaced them the last time I was there. I went to play my strat today, and the strings were toast. I forgot I had let my friend's brother play that guitar this weekend, and his sweat makes my industrial strength super villain acid look like distilled water. I could NOT tune my guitar, the strings were so funkified. And I wanted to play tonight, not after the next time I go to my buddy's shop. Which could be next week.

So, for the first time in years, I actually left the house on a purposeful mission to acquire guitar strings. I managed to flag somebody down to sell me some strings. I had the 10 dollar bill in my hands.

"Name and phone number?"

sigh. "John Smith. Ah, forget it, sorry about that. Didn't mean to give you shit. Cash? Ok?" He just smiled, typed a short novella into the computer, gave me my change. It's not his fault they make him ask, and he's probably not going to have that job for much longer.

[VCuomo]

To hell with GC - Krispy Kreme is on that list! :eek:

[karmadave]

Not likely to go under, but their credit rating makes it more expensive for them to borrow. I assume that GC, like most retailers, finances their inventory. But I agree with another poster, Bain won't likely pull the plug, unless things get really tight and nobody can borrow. This is basically what was happening to Credit Markets a couple weeks ago, With the recent steps taken by the Treasury, the Credit Markets are starting to 'thaw' a bit.

-KD

[bluesjuke]

To hell with GC - Krispy Kreme is on that list! :eek:



A sign of the End TImes!

[HurricaneJesus]

So does this mean I'll soon get a PRS hollowbody for a grand?

[Rotten]

All I know is that I went to their guitar department the other day and asked if I could try out a Princeton Reverb RI. They did not have any in stock and their salesman (kid) had never heard of a Princeton Reverb. Ouch!

[The Doper]

I still think their retail space is killing them. My bet is they go under.

[MuseCafeChris]

To hell with GC - Krispy Kreme is on that list! :eek:

Doesn't surprise me at all. A couple years ago they opened a HUGE restaurant near me. Both the building and the plot of land were ridiculously big for a place where people go to get doughnuts. Didn't take long for that one to close.

I still think their retail space is killing them. My bet is they go under.

Yeah, they expanded like the bejesus right around the time the internet, eBay and Craig's List started to become ubiquitous. Terrible timing.

[Jon Silberman]

When they go out of business we'll clean up on the fire sale for sure.

[spacelord]

Linens and Things is on the list.. I saw a big Going out of Business sign on their store yesterday.

Panavision has been renting their expensive camera equipment for years. Unless they have been investing in digital, they are going to lose. Digital hasn't been able to compete for big movie productions, but some companies are coming out with some fantastic equipment with features as good as real film lately. They can buy the new fancy digital cameras for less than renting the Panavision setups. thats what I read anyways...

[guitarmook]

So when GC goes under, will it be because of the decrease in discretionary spending, or because they alienated their core customers with the 'no more negotiating' policy?

[bluesjuke]

I doubt they'll go under, maybe reorganize, but that policy hurts them I'm sure.

[jaxworlds]

they are getting some big competition from BestBuy.. my guess is you will see a Sam Ash/GC merger in 09.. they will combine and be huge-er...

[jaxworlds]

yikes that list is 7 months old.. it reeks..

[madvek]

When they go out of business we'll clean up on the fire sale for sure.

Anybody remember when the Mars Music chain went under in '02? The inventory was liquidated at auction (at least here in the Boston area store), got some sweet deals!! I outfitted my project studio for about 1/3 of retail prices.;)