By George Anderson
Just because boy bands don't play their own instruments, doesn't mean sales of guitars, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments are dead. In fact, based on Guitar Center's latest quarterly report, people are making their own music (or at least attempting to) in growing numbers.
Sales for stores open at least a year were up five percent. Net sales were up nearly 15 percent with earnings per share up significantly, as well.
Moderator's Comment: What is your assessment of Guitar Center? Are there lessons that retailers not in the musical instrument business can learn from Guitar Center?
Guitar Center is far from perfect but here are three pluses that keeps us shopping its stores.
- A pleasant shopping experience (minus the figurative pat down on the way out of the store) with a knowledgeable, laid-back (perhaps too much in some cases) staff.
- Tremendous product selection and decent prices.
- Strong clicks as well as bricks operation when ordering something that doesn't require a trip to the store. [George Anderson - Moderator]