It’s a scary world we live in today, and part of that means saying goodbye to things that we once loved, including places we would often frequent in our youth. Guitar Center is planning to file for bankruptcy, which could mean that they are at the tail end of a good run. They assure us though that they are only doing this as part of a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA), in which they will remain open and push to turn to a point of growth.
The $1.3 billion in debut is a number from Forbes, btw.
Part of this problem is that with the pandemic you definitely don’t want people coming in and touching the instruments. Which used to be a big draw to going there, trying out the coolest axe you could find. Just don’t play “Stairway to Heaven” or you’ll be booted.
Ron Japinga, CEO of Guitar Center, said:
“Today we announced a very important and positive step forward to ensure the long-term financial strength of Guitar Center. This agreement will allow us to significantly reduce our debt and reinvest in our business in order to better serve our customers and deliver on our mission of putting more music in the world.
With ten consecutive quarters of growth prior to the impact from COVID-19, we have been pleased with our resilient financial performance during these challenging times created by the pandemic. As a result of this financial restructuring process, we will be better equipped to execute on and invest in our strategic growth initiatives and we will continue delivering through the strength of our brands, availability of our stores, customer-focused associate relationships, innovative music education programs and our expanding digital solutions.”
Guitar Center will continue to provide uninterrupted service to its customers through its existing channels, including its stores, websites, call centers and social media pages and will continue to receive goods and ship customer orders as usual. All merchandise credits, prepaid lessons, rentals, gift cards, deposits, orders, financing and warranties will be honored.
The reason that I’m weary however is that we all remember when Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy. We hoped for the best but what happened was one of our favorite places shutting down for what seems like forever. Since they went out of business a version of the store has reopened, but it’s not the same as it once was. Let’s hope that the same thing doesn’t happen to Guitar Center as well.
