Guitar Center -Hollywood Organ to Vox Store to America's largest music retailer

Started by Elantric, February 09, 2017, 03:13:54 PM

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Elantric

http://www.guitarcrayzee.com/hardware.php
http://www.careerbuilder.com/company/guitar-center/C8D19Z6SBJYJNRX2ZS3
https://www.vintageguitar.com/17816/vox-invades-america/

http://www.guitarcenter.com/pages/history





Guitar Center
Public
Guitar Center In The 60's

Peace, Love, & Guitars

The Guitar Center story began in 1959 when Wayne Mitchell purchased a small appliance and home organ store in Hollywood, California. By 1961, he'd changed the name of the company to The Organ Center. In 1964, Joe Banaran, President of the Thomas Organ Company, approached Wayne in search of an outlet to sell a new line of guitars and amplifiers, called Vox.

The timing was right, and Wayne saw the chance to seize a new retail opportunity. He was in the midst of relocating his original Hollywood Organ Center location to a new site, and he agreed that rather than closing down the old store, he would stock it with Vox guitars and amplifiers. Wayne named the store The Vox Center. By the late sixties, it had become evident that the future of musical instrument retailing lay in guitars and amps, not organs, and The Vox Center was re-christened The Guitar Center.

Guitar Center In The 70's

This Ain't No Disco

In 1972, the second Guitar Center opened its doors in San Francisco. San Francisco was a city amidst an explosive musical transition, just exiting its heyday as the 60's "flower power" capitol. The old Guitar Center building had a charm and character that attracted musicians from all over San Francisco. In 1973, Guitar Center San Diego opened its doors. This location proved to play a pivotal role in the growth of the company, as this store was to become the home of the company's first Central Management Office. Ray Scherr started with the company in 1975 behind the accessory counter of Guitar Center, San Francisco. By December of 1977, his talents had propelled him to the position of the Company's first General Manager. His business savvy sparked the flame of success; his creative marketing and innovative promotions set it ablaze. In 1977, Larry Thomas began his career with Guitar Center. He started in the San Francisco store as well and quickly moved through the ranks. Larry's personal drive, his organizational skills and a tenacious approach to problem solving lead him to play a crucial role in the development of the company. Marty Albertson started with the company in 1979, and has held various positions of increasing responsibility.

Guitar Center In The 80's

A New Wave Of Guitar Center's

With the onset of the new decade, Guitar Center was opening a new store with each passing year. 1980 witnessed the opening of the second Chicago store. This North Chicago location had previously been a grocery store, and its conversion to a Guitar Center heralded the onset of a musical instrument "Superstore." With its high ceilings and open floor space, it possessed the ability to support massive merchandising. In 1982, Guitar Center, Sherman Oaks opened on Ventura Boulevard, and thus became the eighth Guitar Center. In 1983, Guitar Center lost its founder Wayne Mitchell, who left a skilled Management Team behind to tackle the challenges that lay ahead. The company's position in the Bay Area was further solidified with the opening of the Oakland, CA location. Just one year later, in 1985, the Guitar Center chain witnessed the Grand Opening of two additional locations- Lawndale and Covina. That year also marked another significant event in the Guitar Center timeline, with the Grand Opening of a new Hollywood store on Sunset Boulevard. The huge 18,000 square foot facility was a testimony to the original flagship, and on November 13, 1985 - amidst gala festivities - was dedicated to Guitar Center founder, Wayne Mitchell.

The opening of this Hollywood Music Complex also gave birth to RockWalk. RockWalk is a sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those who have made significant contributions to the music industry, by immortalizing their handprints in cement. Today, any customer who enters the Hollywood Store can share in recognizing the accomplishments of such notable artists as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Chuck Berry, James Brown, The Doobie Brothers, BB King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Smoky Robinson, Roy Orbison, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Wonder and many more.

Guitar Center In The 90's

IPO's PDA's DAT's & RAP

You could say that in the 90's Guitar Center underwent monumental changes that impacted both the company and a nation of musicians, and earned G.C. the phrase, "The largest Musical Instrument retailer in the world."

By this time, Larry Thomas had assumed the position of Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, while in 1996 Marty Albertson became President and Co-Chief Executive officer. The company's growth in this time period surpassed any other Musical Instrument retailer in the world, with the opening of nearly 70 stores during the decade. With a clear-cut vision of where they wanted to go, G.C. opened stores in smaller markets, helping cultivate the Musical Instrument Market. Grand openings were taking place at a rate of 1 to 2 stores a month. A Guitar Center grand opening is not your typical store opening. These events draw hundreds of kids and adults, local news media, and sometimes major networks like MTV, VH1 & CNN.

1997 marked the year G.C. went public. Soon after, they purchased the catalog company, Musician's Friend, and have seen solid revenue growth with the acquisition.

Guitar Center 2000 & Beyond

Over 160 Stores...and Growing!

Guitar Center plunged into the new millennium with the forward-moving momentum of the previous decade and a vision of vast expansion. Guitar Center reached the 100th store mark with the Grand Opening of the Little Rock store on February 21, 2002. In 2005, G.C.'s acquisition of Music & Arts Center brought 62 new stores throughout the US, catering to a completely new instrument market. With clear-cut goals and good old fashioned customer service that caters to the musician's every need, Guitar Center still proves more than ever to be a strong link between musicians and the tools of the trade.

The future looks bright as Guitar Center continues to open stores across the country. Guitar Center has no intention of slowing down and will be around for generations to come. You can check out our Grand Opening page to see where Guitar Center is growing to now.




chrish

 don't know if it was mentioned but I believe that Guitar Center  owns Musician's Friend.

admin

Quote from: chrish on July 12, 2018, 10:10:12 PM
don't know if it was mentioned but I believe that Guitar Center  owns Musician's Friend.

And several other online music gear merchants

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Center

Guitar Center oversees various subsidiaries including Music & Arts, GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, Woodwind and Brasswind, Music 123

chrish

Clicked on the Wikipedia link  above. Revenue 2.14 billion. Doesn't look like guitars are dead to me.

admin

Quote from: chrish on July 13, 2018, 10:38:53 AM
Clicked on the Wikipedia link  above. Revenue 2.14 billion. Doesn't look like guitars are dead to me.

That includes  DJ gear, Recording gear, Band Instruments, Keyboards

QuoteRevenue is the amount of money that a company actually receives during a specific period, including discounts and deductions for returned merchandise. It is the top line or gross income figure from which costs are subtracted to determine Net Profit income.


The important aspect with Guitar Center cash flow is  Net profit  - which ( depending who you talk to) has been in a downward spiral for past decade.
https://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/company/guitar-center-inc-9528-8250?tab=financials

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/04/17/guitar-center-bankruptcy/


chrish

That's true I guess you could look at Gibson's gross revenue and think they're doing well.

I was trying to find out how many guitars they sell every year at Guitar Center and came upon this opinion piece.

"This is an obituary for Guitar Center, a chain of big box musical instrument stores that was captured and infected by private equity during a national trend of greed and reckless expansionism in the late-1990s and early-2000s."

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ericgarland.co/2015/02/03/end-guitar-center/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwjOzqST75zcAhXCiVQKHe4TDswQFjAMegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw32ZHE-cOdpPAQfE6Xjyfax&ampcf=1


admin



https://guitar.com/category/news/

GUITAR CENTER MAY FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY THIS WEEKEND
The retail giant missed another interest payment.

Guitar.com
57 mins ago
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Guitar Center Hollywood Rock Walk
Image: Aaron P / Bauer-Griffin / GC Images
Guitar Center could file for bankruptcy this weekend, but stores will remain open as the company restructures.

Read More: Could Guitar Center actually go bankrupt and be forced to shutter?
According to a report from Bloomberg, the retail giant and its private equity owner Ares Management are planning to file a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as early as this weekend. The company's creditors have supported the potential filing. In a separate report, The New York Times expects the deal to be finalised "in the next few weeks".

Chapter 11 will give Guitar Center forbearance on missed interest payments in October and let it keep operating its 300 stores around the US, the reports say. A few investors are also looking to inject more capital into the company to help it restructure, per Bloomberg.

"We are in discussions with our creditors regarding multiple options to strengthen our capital structure and we look forward to a positive resolution," a Guitar Center spokesman told The New York Times.

Suggestions that the company will soon file for bankruptcy first surfaced on 24 October, when news broke of a missed $45 million interest payment, setting off a 30-day grace period that could end in default.

Earlier this year, in May, Guitar Center was reportedly considering debt restructuring after missing two interest payments. In July, the company managed to exchange $56.4 million in bonds, which saved it from immediate default.

Guitar Center currently has $1.3 billion in debt. Bain Capital acquired the company in 2007 for $2.1 billion, and in 2014 did a debt-for-equity swap with Ares Management, who then took control of Guitar Center.

admin



Thank you for being a loyal customer of Musician's Friend. We genuinely appreciate your business.

I'm pleased to share that our parent company — Guitar Center, Inc. — has announced an agreement to strengthen their financial structure which will allow us to serve you better for the long term. During this time there is likely to be press coverage, so we wanted you to hear from us what to expect.
Our website and call centers are open and available to you as we continue to operate our business as usual.

We will continue to serve your needs as usual, therefore customer service, Musician's Friend Rewards, financing and Gold Coverage remain unaffected.
To facilitate this financial restructuring, we will voluntarily file for restructuring under Chapter 11. During this time, we will have ample financing to continue all of our operations without interruption.

Most importantly, we are staying focused on helping more customers make music. We continue to have the gear you want and need, with new gear arriving regularly and we are here to support your musical needs as we have exciting Musician's Friend holiday promotions ready for you!

If you have questions or concerns please feel free to email us at service@musiciansfriend.com or call us at 877-880-5907.
Ron Japinga
Ron Japinga
Chief Executive Officer
The Guitar Center Company

admin

https://www.retaildive.com/news/guitar-center-files-confidentially-for-ipo-debtwire/606834/

Guitar Center management has filed confidential registration papers for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a report from Debtwire that cited anonymous sources.
The filing follows increases in the retailer's sales as well as earnings, which have trended up both from last year and 2019 in the company's latest quarter, according to Debtwire data.
The S-1 filing also comes less than a year after Guitar Center filed for bankruptcy under the weight of its debt load and pandemic disruption. The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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Dive Insight:
What a difference a year has made. In 2020, some 30 major retailers went bankrupt as the pandemic rippled through the industry and hit those companies with the biggest debt loads and weakest financial profiles.

So far in 2021, with sales recovering broadly and the stock market booming after last spring's sell-off, 12 companies in the retail space have filed to go public, either through an IPO or public listing.

Guitar Center has the distinction of being the only company on both of those lists.

The musical instrument retailer made a relatively quick trip through bankruptcy last year in a process that allowed it to shed hundreds of millions of dollars in debt while also raising new capital.

At the time, Guitar Center CEO Ron Japinga noted the "challenging times created by the pandemic" that led to its filing. But the company had been hobbled by debt for years after multiple private equity takeovers.

Guitar Center was originally founded by Wayne Mitchell in 1959 as an organ store located in Hollywood, California. After the Beatles helped solidify rock and roll's hold on the American music scene, "The Organ Center" ultimately became Guitar Center, focused on the in-store experience and building relationships with musicians.

In 2007, the retailer was taken over by Bain Capital in a leveraged buyout. Bain would go on to sell it to Ares Management, which held on to a stake after the company's Chapter 11, with Brigade Capital Management and The Carlyle Group also joining its ownership group.

According to one of the retailer's main rivals, a period of disinvestment in its stores, employees and inventory followed its private equity acquisition.

That rival, Chuck Surack, founder and chairman of online guitar seller Sweetwater, told Retail Dive last year that the music world needed Guitar Center and its stores.

"They're good for our industry, even though they're not as good as they used to be," Surack said last fall. "Our industry needs them badly. They need to inspire young people to come in and learn how to play an instrument."

On exiting bankruptcy in December, Japinga said that the process had given Guitar Center "the financial and operational flexibility we need to reinvest in our business and support our long-term sustainable growth."

Guitar Center's reported IPO filing is a sign that the company is in decent health, good enough at least that management believes it has something investors could be interested in. An IPO could also mean an influx of capital that could be used to reduce its remaining debt and to invest in its operations.