Sweetwater sold to capital investment company

[Southsidemusic]

So Sweetwater to Guitar Center - here we come LOL

Really hope they don’t go the Gibson or GC down spiral….

Well then Vintage King - We are on the way

[gives]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

So Sweetwater to Guitar Center - here we come LOL

Really hope they don’t go the Gibson or GC down spiral….

Well then Vintage King - We are on the way

Yes, I heard. Why did they build the big new SuperStore 44,0000 Sq Ft. at their home location? Now we know. It's a test of things to come I guess...

They will slowly transition to the Capital investments way of bottom line thinking over time I am sure, but hope they don't. The Walmart of Music Stores..
G

[John_Toolbox]

Considering how long they’ve been in business (42 years)…. Not surprising that a buyout would happen… I’m sure Chuck wants to retire. It’s interesting how everything just gets bought out or put out of business by something bigger. When I got into this 20 years ago, always tried to do business with American Pro Audio, my local pro audio dealer, or AEI for wiring/connectors/electrical stuff. They both closed up at least 10 years ago, now sweetwater seems like the closest thing to a local business. I have always had a good experience with them, but honestly haven’t bought a lot from them, most of what I buy these days is software, so either directly from the developer or audiodeluxe. Never been a big fan of guitar center, hopefully they preserve sweetwater’s level of service. Last purchase from guitar center I made was a hollow body guitar that was packaged poorly, and arrived with a crack in the body due to a hole in the box. It really looked like whoever shipped it did not care. They gave me a partial refund, but it was not as much as what it would have cost to repair the crack. Oh well… the guitar has that as part of its story, which is part of the fun of owning instruments.

[JCBigler]

So I guess this means no more free candy with each purchase?

[JFreak]

Who cares who owns the company? It would be news if old people would have been kicked out and new ones hired. You are not doing business with a company, you do business with people.

[smurfyou]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Who cares who owns the company? It would be news if old people would have been kicked out and new ones hired. You are not doing business with a company, you do business with people.

I don't know if this exists anywhere else in the world, but here in the states we have "Private Equity" firms that are corporate vampires. They take advantage of various loopholes to control a company without regard for its debt. They quite literally bleed it dry and bankrupt it on purpose and somehow walk away with a massive profit.

So that's why it matters who owns a company. A PE firm is usually a sign of a death spiral.

Before anyone in the financial industry replies, I realize this is oversimplified but this is the result of a lot of these takeovers.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

So Sweetwater to Guitar Center - here we come LOL

Really hope they don’t go the Gibson or GC down spiral….

Well then Vintage King - We are on the way

VK are good people. They're not cheap and they don't carry a lot of brands especially the smaller less known ones.

[DonaldM]

I'm sorry to hear about this. I've been a Sweetwater customer for years. I only live 2 hours from their superstore and HQ and know some of the folks there. I've been there many times. Its really something to see.

I really hope they won't change too much. But that's probably a fool's hope.

[DonaldM]

Well, this sounds a little more promising. Chuck Surack, the Founder, is stepping down as CEO, but becoming Chair of the Board. The current Exec. VP will be the new CEO, so there will be continuity of leadership from those who built the company. The Partnership owns a majority of the company, but it appears that they are making an investment, not necessarily wanting to run the show. We'll see.