That's not good. Not everyone lives near a big box shopping center or has a local music store. I hope they make it. As much as people criticize guitar center, I think they're a good business to have available in local markets.
You're only going to find GC stores in large markets. MF is a completely separate entity even though they share common ownership, and their fortunes are unrelated other than in the terms of general market being down. GC has been through several ownerships, going public about ten years ago before going back private about two years ago. I know when I worked for them, they were incredibly brazen and fraudulent in their business practices and directly contributed to the ruin of several reputable manufacturers.
From what I understand, the main shareholders at that time were investment bankers and they ran that company exactly the same way banks were run up until recently. Since GC's gone private and can't rely on artificial speculative stock income to prop it up and actually has to turn a real profit, it's been in trouble. I know the local store now no longer negotiates on prices and have heard that it is a chain-wide move.
I also know that service is a fantasy at my local store. Just this past Sunday I called looking to buy an Alesis HD24, not a cheap piece of gear. The mouthbreather "recording specialist" I spoke to on the phone had no idea what it was (even though it is very common recorder that has been on the market for almost a decade) but said that they had one in stock and he would call me back as soon as he physically located it. I told him I needed to know ASAP at 11:15 AM and got a 'returning your call' message with no info about the recorder at all at 3:30PM. I'm glad I had other options.
Around here, most musicians avoid the place because they've either worked there or can't stand the employees, who are flakes by even musician standards. Screw 'em.