Dumbest thing ever said at Guitar Center

Matt I agree about Eric's article, but I also sat in on Confrence Calls about GC and Avid in the Glory Days and latter and what Qualified somebody to be the MI / DAW Cheif Anylist at more than one major firm was , he's in a band!
It would be fun to find out how much of GCs inventory is on Consignment. so that the Vendor still owns it. In Audio they don't seam to be stocking much other than their own brands.

This might explain Gibsons opening a Gibson store and Avid, Waves and Slates foray into subscription, might need cash flow to take place of the trickle of late GC payments.

Musicians Friend?

Matt I Quit B school because I realized the toilet we call the entertainment industry was a far cleaner world! And I made more than my profs .

I don't bother traveling anymore. I have been assimilated into the Amazon Prime. There is a distribution center in Phoenix near me, and the crazy weird stuff I can get next day is just insane. And I mean nutty stuff, both expensive and inexpensive. If I were marketing a product, I would sell it through Amazon. And maybe no where else. If you live near a nexus, delivery (deliverance?) is a few mouse clicks away. Beautiful.

Agreed. I am lucky that my local team is loaded with upright people possessing a sense of decency that is clearly missing as you rise through the ladder of corporate management.

One of my many pet theories is that all board members, of any large company, must surrender their morality at the door, or they don't get in. It's that simple, and one of the downstream effects of the Capitalist Way. I'm not complaining, it's just an observation. After all, I ride their coat tails, so who am I to object.

The thing about Eric Garland's blog essay is, he seemed to blame Bain Capital for the sin of turning Guitar Center into a much bigger, Bain Capitalized, larger version of.. Guitar Center. Maybe Bain is evil. I don’t know.

Also surprising was the “success story” [scare quotes only because of the context, I think it’s great that a big low margin MI company had success,] of Behringer leaving GS as retailer and forging business with smaller retailers.

In my heart, it never seemed like big box retailers would dominate the MI business, only because as big as the bigs are in musical instruments and recording equipment, it'll never be a commodity retail business.

Mom and Pop music stores began failing years ago, 'way before the internet or GC's private equity expansion. In metro NY, Sam Ash undercut the local Music Store in the late 60's, and I remember a conversation I had with a small local music store owner after BOC got it's record contract, he said, like he already knew I'd never buy any big ticket item from him again, "I hope you'll give me your pick and string business." I remembered that conversation, because as a successful artist, the first thing you get as an endorsement is picks and strings.

[Thanks over the years for Dean Markley, LaBella, DR, D’Addario, Steve Clayton, and more.

LaBella and D’Addario are the only people who still make double ball end Steinberger strings. If you play Steinberger guitars, where else are you going to go? I double thank both LaBella and D’Addario for their good taste and business sense in endorsing yours truly all these years. ]

Efficient retailers have pressured Mom and Pops pretty much out of business, like they have in every aspect of commerce, but I already know by the seat of my pants where my retail dollars will go. I might buy a commodity item from GS, or an impulse purchase, but otherwise it's typically an internet vendor who's proven to have good sale and post sale service. I'll take a chance on a new vendor, and most are conscientious about service and satisfaction. Geez, bad service spreads rapidly now. So does good.

Anyway, if GC is going to start failing in marginal markets at first like other big retailers, there’s certainly opportunities for service oriented small businesses to take up the slack. I’m all for it, of course.

When I was buying a 002R, back in 06, I called GC one morning about buying one. I talked to a salesman, told him I needed to buy it "today". I just wanted him to check and make sure they had it in stock and I would come down and pick it up. He tells me that he'll check to see and call me right back. I call back an hour later, hasn't checked yet, he'll check and get back to me in an hour. 2 hours pass, no call. I go to an online retailer, submit the order, pay extra for next day shipping (which is cheaper than the tax I would have paid), and I'm in business. 8 o'clock that night, I get a call from the GC salesman telling me that he's got one and I can come down to pick it up. Sorry buddy, I've already got one, for less money, and I don't have to leave my house. I'm not interested in trying to force a Salesman to take my money. When I worked in sales, it was a pure hussle. If you don't bust your ass to get the deal done, the other guy is getting that deal. No two ways about it.

I wonder if GC goes down, if MF is included in that. GC has given me poor experiences for years now, but MF has been totally awesome.

MF almost always gives me a great price right off the bat. The only issue that I've had is ordering a backordered item and it taking forever for them to replenish stock.

Always read the policies before ordering from any where any thing.
From a sales point of view the worst thing in the world is when the conputer says its in stock, and it isn't, somebody wasting time looking for it and your just order another one! Drop ship it!

A friend posted that on facebook

Problems with RS are, and have been, well known. Predicting it's reorganization is like announcing that the sun will rise and then taking credit for it.

Agreed, the numbers are not good. The problem I have is with the blunt prediction of it's impending death. Chapter 11, maybe, but not until more financial maneuvering is attempted. Chapter 7, less likely. In any event, investors in GC must be clenching a bit these days, and praying for their customer base to spend wildly at their stores and on MF. I hope this happens - the world needs more Rock 'n' Rollers.