Gibson, one of the world’s most famous guitars, is on the verge of bankruptcy. It required the hiring of a new chief financial officer, Benson Woo, who is seeking to clear the company’s debts.
Gibson had to draw up a business plan to refinance its $ 375 million debts, with payment deadline through August this year. Company CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said there will be focus on products that bring profit – those who do not will be left behind.
Founded in 1894, Gibson stood out for the high quality standard of its instruments, used by consecrated names that go from Slash and Jimmy Page to B.B. King and Bob Marley. In recent years, the company has lost strength in the market due to the growth of styles that do not use guitars of primordial form, like electronic music and hip hop.
When it all started to go down
Nashville Post sources indicate that much of the problem came with the departure of Bill Lawrence, the company’s chief financial officer. Lawrence would have left the company in poor condition since “$ 375 million in debt and $ 145 million in loans” would be reaching their “maturity” if they were not refinanced until July.
In addition, Gibson also left Nashville, the city that had been its headquarters for more than 30 years. Now, the company’s future lies in the hands of Henry Juskiewicz, the owner of the company, but it will be a difficult battle: Juskiewicz would be “facing a fight against creditors over bad business decisions,” as the Dayton Daily News points out, and one of options to resolve the financial situation would be to decree the bankruptcy of the company.
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