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    Default Are Music Stores in Trouble? Retail Sales Flat for Musical Instruments

    A thread started by Lexer titled "Buying drums at Guitar Center...", compelled me to start this thread.

    With Sears closing down many of its brick and mortar stores in 2017, a recent article published on Market Watch (April 30, 2017) titled "Will Guitar Center be overwhelmed by its debt?" had me wondering if any of the smaller independently owned music stores are suffering from the same stagnant sales? If you look at the long faces at my local indie store, the answer is "yes".

    According to a recent Bloomberg report (see graph), musical instruments sales have been stagnant since 2007. Ten years of flat sales have many stock market analysts wondering if the big leveraged buyout wave of 2005-2007 is about to claim another victim?



    According to the article, "In 2007, GC was taken private by Mitt Romney’s former private-equity firm Bain Capital in an LBO valued at $2.1 billion that left it saddled with $1.6 billion of high-yield debt. Coming just ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, the company struggled with its high interest payments for several years."

    GCI (Guitar Center Inc.) has $1.6 billion bond debt due to mature within two years from now and some market analysts say "it's a hole too deep to climb out of".

    Unrelated?

    GC has ditched the yearly Drum-Off competition for 2017 amid rumors that this is the first sign of major changes (bankruptcy) to come down the pipe. Probably a few of you here can care less if the Drum-Off has met its demise but for many up and coming drummers, trying out for a spot at the regional level was something to be proud of.
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    What are your thoughts about the longevity of the brick and mortar music stores? (Please, no GC bashing)

    Is offering music lessons enough to keep the door open?

    Guitar Center Sacramento:

    Last edited by late8; 08-23-2017 at 03:31 PM.

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