Gabe Dalporto made his first trips to Guitar Center as a young man in New York City, during visits from his musician father. But after becoming the musical-instrument retailer’s chief executive in 2023, he heard a common complaint from fellow musicians: Shopping there had become a drab experience. WSJ spoke with the Guitar Center CEO to figure out how they’ve managed to climb out of a $1 billion hole of debt and to learn what’s next for the business. Chapters: 0:00 Guitar Center’s fall and rise 1:15 The new strategy and CEO 2:59 The biggest issues 4:19 Changing Guitar Center’s reputation 5:20 Guitar Center’s new in-house guitar 7:18 What’s next for Guitar Center? News Explainers Some days the high-speed news cycle can bring more questions than answers. WSJ’s news explainers break down the day's biggest stories into bite-size pieces to help you make sense of the news. #GuitarCenter #Business #WSJ