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Author Topic: Guitar Center and financing woes thread  (Read 20403 times)

John Roberts {JR}

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2014, 12:16:58 AM »

I have been watching the slow demise of M&P distribution for the last few decades. The consumers of MI gear, not the more professional members here, buy commodity products predominantly on price, and they get that best price from the WWW.. They will probably end up buying from amazon or the last e-retailer standing. 

JR
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Tom Roche

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2014, 06:09:14 PM »

For those intersted, Ares Management has taken control of GC.  Ares held most the GC's debt and worked a debt-to-equity deal that eliminates a big chunk of debt and reduces annual interest payments by $70 million.  Guess we'll see if the new management will work to eliminate more debt, which is the only way GC will survive IMO.
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Brian Wynn

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2014, 01:13:26 PM »

For those intersted, Ares Management has taken control of GC.  Ares held most the GC's debt and worked a debt-to-equity deal that eliminates a big chunk of debt and reduces annual interest payments by $70 million.  Guess we'll see if the new management will work to eliminate more debt, which is the only way GC will survive IMO.

Ares takes over and the next day they pull a huge line of credit with Wells Fargo something like 325 Million.  Back to the same old game.  I hope they go under sooner than later.

http://www.abladvisor.com/news/4381/wells-fargo-cf-arranges-325mm-credit-facility-for-guitar-center
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Jamin Lynch

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #13 on: April 29, 2014, 03:52:34 PM »

One thing I see as a "Pop" shop (no mom here) is this race to the bottom in quality and price. It seems like everything that is coming out lately is just total cheap crap and the customers are buying it up only because it's cheap.  Then get sticker shock when they come over here to look at the "good stuff" I carry...that is until they hear it live at one of my shows. Once they hear some good quality equipment, properly set up, they want it and often wonder why they went to "brand X" to start with. But then it's too late. As a specialty M&P shop, I can't and don't want to carry all the various low end stuff that everyone is buying.

I often see really goods bands that sound like crap due to their cheap P.O.S. system that was sold to them by someone who has no clue. A total turn off. Nobody wants to go out and see bands around here because of the poor sound quality. The bands have gotten too use to the low prices of this crap equipment...all it does is make noise, and not good noise.

 

« Last Edit: April 29, 2014, 03:54:42 PM by Jamin Lynch »
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Joseph D. Macry

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #14 on: April 29, 2014, 05:10:20 PM »

I worked at Mars Music until they went into bankruptcy. Primary cause then was trying to expand too far, too fast. Also, wasting millions on naming rights to a stadium in Ft Lauderdale didn't help. The owner had previously built the Office Depot chain, and he wanted to do the same with Mars Music.
No, the gear isn't marked up much; it's pretty much marked at MAP and sometimes whittled down from there. The profit is in the accessories. Don't just sell a guitar, sell a guitar with spare strings, strap, case, stand, cable, etc etc etc.
FWIW, I bought my latest guitar from a small local shop, even though I found it on the internet for about 10% less. I just liked the guys at Larryland Music in Bastrop TX.
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Jeff Bankston

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #15 on: April 29, 2014, 05:19:35 PM »

I wish that were the case in Boston Cailen. Go to an M&P and the price is either higher, the don't carry the line, or it's a special order.
i dealt with that until 1987 when i moved to la and found GC. the other thing with indepndent stores was their jerk off attitude. they would never special order even if you offered to pay in advance. they always acted as if they were doing YOU a favor by having a store. the prices were always list with no discount and one store sold higher than list. one store told me if you dont like what we have leave and dont come back. GC made the independant stores become very humble and very nice and polite and caring to the customers and sell a little below list price.
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Brian Wynn

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #16 on: May 02, 2014, 10:53:45 AM »

i dealt with that until 1987 when i moved to la and found GC. the other thing with indepndent stores was their jerk off attitude. they would never special order even if you offered to pay in advance. they always acted as if they were doing YOU a favor by having a store. the prices were always list with no discount and one store sold higher than list. one store told me if you dont like what we have leave and dont come back. GC made the independant stores become very humble and very nice and polite and caring to the customers and sell a little below list price.

Im sorry that you experienced this but I can assure you that its not the case nation wide.  We have been in retail for 30 plus years and have never sold anything higher than MAPP.  If you like shopping at GC I say go ahead do it while you can because they WILL be gone soon.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2014, 10:57:35 AM by Brian Wynn »
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Jeff Bankston

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #17 on: May 02, 2014, 04:06:34 PM »

Im sorry that you experienced this but I can assure you that its not the case nation wide.  We have been in retail for 30 plus years and have never sold anything higher than MAPP.  If you like shopping at GC I say go ahead do it while you can because they WILL be gone soon.
well i hope they dont go under. that would cause me great inconvience. i live in la and their is a GC about 5 miles from me. they have the drum sticks , guitar picks, strings , etc i use. the "only" other store around my area is Sam Ash and its about 10 miles from me and SA doesnt stock anything i use. Pro Drum is about 20 miles away. this might not very far but in los angeles the freeway traffic can make PD a 1 very slow 1 hour trip each way plus the cost of time and gas. i have looked to eabay at these items i use but the prices are higher plus shipping and stuff. also ALL those employees that work at GC will be trying to figure how to pay rent if they go under. and this rumour about GC going under is all over the web and several friends of mine are now afraid to buy at GC and this had caused the store near me to be empty of customers and i know this because one of the DM's rents a room next door to me. 
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Ray Aberle

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #18 on: May 02, 2014, 04:39:16 PM »

and this rumour about GC going under is all over the web and several friends of mine are now afraid to buy at GC and this had caused the store near me to be empty of customers and i know this because one of the DM's rents a room next door to me.

Your friends are idiots, then, because if they think that the goods they can purchase at GC are somehow "Tainted" because of these rumors that they might fold-- well,
a) A Shure SM58 will still work just fine after the person/company who sold it to you goes out of business... but more importantly
b) the best (Shure-fire? Haha) way to help them to not go out of business is to keep shopping there! Stop shopping there, their sales plummet, and sure enough you've made it come true: they close down.

If your friends want to be loyal to Banjo Hut, now's the time to show their loyalty.

-Ray
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Jeff Bankston

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Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #19 on: May 02, 2014, 04:55:42 PM »

Your friends are idiots,
you really shouldnt be calling my friends that you dont know "idiots". you dont know them personally and one in particular doesnt like being called names. however you can call me anything you wish because i dont give a dam.

as for some people not wanting to go to GC after all this internet crap , well thats their decision. i'm going to GC later to some sticks, and bass strings and i am "The 1d10t" !
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Guitar Center and financing woes thread
« Reply #19 on: May 02, 2014, 04:55:42 PM »


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