Our story this week about the BI-LO grocery chain threw the spotlight on the way in which GE Capital is helping businesses buffeted by the recession weather the storm and bounce back from bankruptcy. The other side of that financing equation is helping rock solid businesses expand their already winning formulas. That behinds-the-scenes work is currently playing out with Taylor Guitars, which makes nearly 80,000 high-end instruments per year across a range of nearly 100 models for stars such as Dave Matthews, Taylor Swift, and Jason Mraz. As you can see in the video below, despite its success, Taylor faced an inventory finance challenge. For Taylor’s more than 800 retailers in over 60 countries, it can take up to 6 months from the time a guitar arrives at a dealer until the time it’s sold — and the dealers are known for offering a “full Taylor experience” by stocking the full line. Conversely, manufacturer’s terms typically require dealers to pay within 30 days. Compounding the cash challenge — guitar buyers often ask for extended financing for such a big personal investment.

As the San Diego Union-Tribune notes in its story this week about new ads highlighting the successful team-up, “The relationship between Taylor and GE Capital dates to 2000. It was then that the El Cajon company realized it needed help providing inventory finance for stock purchases by dealers, as well as retails sales financing for customers. GE Capital devised a plan to address both issues that has helped boost Taylor’s sales by as much as 25 percent per year.”

The paper also quips that much to Taylor’s surprise last year, the guitar maker was no longer just a household name for musicians. It was swept up in a hilarious viral web phenomenon by the nearly 9 million viewers who watched singer Dave Carroll’s music video. At the time, the newspaper called Dave’s sarcastic song about the horror of watching from his plane window as baggage handlers threw his guitar “the biggest public-relations bonanza in the 35-year history of Taylor Guitars.”

* Learn more about GE Capital’s work with Taylor
* Read “Taylor-made: San Diego guitar company teams with GE Capital for ad campaign worth picking up on” in the San Diego Union-Tribune

Learn more in these GE Reports stories:
* “Helping BI-LO grocery stores check out of Chapter 11”
* “GE Capital: Helping bankrupt businesses bounce back”
* “Dallas keeps on truckin’ with GE Capital”
* “Digital start-ups fly higher under Peacock Fund’s wings”
* “Peacock Fund fuels Syfy & game guru Trion venture”
* “Healthymagination Fund’s first investment has heart”
* “Cooking up a recipe for success at Jack in the Box”
* “Brando, McQueen & GE rev up Triumph Motorcycles”
* “GE Capital’s loan helps grow 150 jobs in Shreveport”