Gibson bankruptcy??

fronobulax

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You meant to say "here's a link from page two of this thread that is so good I need to remind people of it again", right? :)

Latest in Bloomberg. A group of the creditors want Henry J out before they bail Gibson out.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...re-said-to-want-new-ceo-before-funding-rescue
 

adorshki

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I think fro was playing with ya, walrus. ;)

And, bluesy, oh yes, he deee'd! :)

Fronobulaxia are notoriously humorless because much like Praying Mantissia and procreation, the exercise thereof is frequently, if not always , terminal.
 

walrus

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Oh, I know he was joshing me, and I deserved it! Old, grumpy, and forgetful have recently become my most endearing traits... :indecisiveness:

walrus
 

dreadnut

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Of course he is!

That reminds me of a list we used to pass around at work; "Creative New Ways To Ride A Dead Horse," including:

- Buy a new bridle
- Buy a new whip
- Hire an expert dead-horse-riding consultant
- Blame the rider
- Appoint a committee to study how to best ride dead horses
- Create new policies on the proper riding of dead horses
- Visit other companies who apparently ride dead horses better than we do
- Have some employees to drag the horse to and fro so as to convince the stockholders that dead horses are still a viable option

and so forth...
 

bobouz

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fronobulax

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From today's news. Henry J is blaming guitar stores:

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/gibson-boss-blames-guitar-stores/

walrus

First, let me acknowledge that I have NOT seen this article before. Clearly this means you have overcome your memory lapses or I have started having them :)

I note the article starts out with "sluggish sales, especially in its electronics division" and then focuses on guitars which is the part of the company than almost everyone believes is in good shape. HJ is venting but his comments really don't apply to Gibson's current financial situation or how it might be improved.

That said he does make some good points. Without trying too hard to define terms I certainly do not feel "comfortable" in many big box music stores. I am slightly more comfortable in smaller, mom and pop stores but a lot of that is just smaller size, fewer people and lower noise level. But "comfortable" is not always a good thing when every seat in your coffee shop is filled with folks who bough a small coffee and have been telecommuting over your wifi for 6 hours. It's hard to manage when the person who has been noodling on the high end acoustics for 60 minutes doesn't look like they are going to buy and does appear to be making possibly more serious buyers just leave.

But I am not sure how many of HJs suggestions are good ones. From his point of view guitars may be a mass market commodity product but I don't think most buyers, especially first time buyers and dedicated amateur players see things that way so marketing and sales need to acknowledge that.
 

twocorgis

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In was anyone missed the hyperlink in the Ultimate Guitar article, the referenced interview is here.
 

Brad Little

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It's come up in this thread that one Gibson problem may be product placement, because of the stocking minimums they impose on dealers. It's also come up that Sam Ash was one of the dealers selling Gibsons at low ball pricing. It's interesting that about 15 years ago when I had the opportunity to purchase as many guitars as I could for $2000 for a program I was starting at my school, I thought low end Epiphones might be a good choice, so I went to Sam Ash, as they were an approved vendor for the state. Their guitar manager said they didn't carry Epis because Gibson's stocking requirements would have made them carry more instruments than they were comfortable with. I guess that hurdle has been overcome. It also makes me think that Sam Ash's grandsons, who still own the company, are running the company on sound financial footing.
Brad
PS FWIW, I wound up with ten low end Yamahas and Fenders.
 

Grassdog

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I just find it incredulous to hear Henry wax philosophical about how important it is to take care of the customer when he's spent a career alienating people along the way (many of them people who own care deeply about the guitars and the brand).

In the end, it really wouldn't surprise me if he finds another financial institution or group of investors to refinance him out of this mess with him retaining some ownership and control. In the financial industry, the greater fool theory is always alive and well. Especially so near the peak of the economic cycle. The company's numbers look awful, insight of management is highly questionable, but the deal has sex appeal because of the brand.
 

fronobulax

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Recalling the sometimes troubled history of the ownership of our brand, I am very glad this is not a thread about Guild's possible bankruptcy. Sometimes finding someone worse off makes you appreciate just what you have ;-)
 

richardp69

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Surely seems to be a lot of Gibson haters here. They've got their problems for sure but then again so do many of us. It doesn't mean we're unredeemable, it just means we have a lot of work to do to get us to where we should be. I'll just say that from at least my personal experience, they're made and continue to make some fine acoustic instruments. Let the bashing begin but at times someone needs to get behind the underdog.
 

chazmo

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Recalling the sometimes troubled history of the ownership of our brand, I am very glad this is not a thread about Guild's possible bankruptcy. Sometimes finding someone worse off makes you appreciate just what you have ;-)

That is truth right there, Fro! Speaking of that, has anyone been tracking CMG's performance since acquiring Guild?
 
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