Guitar Center’s bankruptcy is the latest example of how the coronavirus pandemic has divided American retail into two groups, with a growing gap between the strongest and weakest companies. Even before the pandemic, Guitar Center’s business was threatened by online rivals like the website Sweetwater, and the company was heavily indebted as a result of a private-equity led buyout years earlier. It missed an interest payment of roughly $45 million last month, putting it on the path to a bankruptcy filing, The New York Times previously reported. Guitar Center had to close many of its stores across the country, with 75 percent of its stores shuttered at one point. The retailer later said that online sales blossomed during the pandemic, but what proportion of its business those sales made up is unclear.

Source: New York Times November 22, 2020 14:48 UTC