21h ago

How Guitar Center plans to beat its online competitors and safeguard the future of its physical stores

www.guitarworld.com “That’s where we can win against Amazon. We’re not going to compete with the factory direct-from-China stuff. It’s not a winnable space”: How Guitar Center plans to beat its online competitors and safeguard the future of its physical stores

Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto has laid out the retailer’s plans to win the trust of prospective customers in the face of unprecedented online competition

“That’s where we can win against Amazon. We’re not going to compete with the factory direct-from-China stuff. It’s not a winnable space”: How Guitar Center plans to beat its online competitors and safeguard the future of its physical stores

3 comments

I went to a GC about 10 years ago and their staff literally knew nothing about guitars, or really even music. This was in Nashville, where there's really no excuse. Meanwhile I know the guys at my local mom and pop, stop by to talk shop sometimes and just goof off, and when they don't have it, my Sweetwater rep calls me every few months just to check in and see if there's anything I need.
So yeah, I don't really have any desire to ever go to a Guitar Center ever again.
- When I was actively playing Sweetwater was amazing.

Yeah, it's a real shame that Amazon is poisoning the section of the market that GC had already poisoned for the independent guitar shops. Best of luck finding a new section of the market to destroy though...