Thomann (retailer)
Thomann Music Store Main Entrance | |
| Company type | GmbH[1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | Musical Instruments |
| Founded | January 2, 1954 in Burgebrach, Germany |
| Founder | Hans Thomann Sr. |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Hans Thomann Jr. (CEO) |
| Products | Musical instruments, Recording equipment, stagelights and accessories |
| Revenue | € 1.31 Mrd ($ 1.39B)[2] (2022) |
| Owner | family-owned |
Number of employees | 1700[3] (2021) |
| Website | thomannmusic |
Thomann GmbH,[1] formerly Musikhaus Thomann e.K.,[4] is a German-based retailer of musical instruments, studio, lighting, and pro audio equipment, best known primarily due to its large online retail operation, Thomann Cyberstore. According to a 2014 report, it is the largest online retailer in this field.[5] Hans Thomann Sr., founded the company in 1954 as a family business in the community of Treppendorf of Burgebrach, in Bavaria, Germany, where it is still based. The company is still family-owned.[6]
History
Hans Thomann Sr., a trumpet player, recognized that there was no music store near Burgebrach, so he started selling wind instruments, eventually turning part of his family home into a music store in 1954. In 1968, a new wing was built on the home to house the store and its expansion into other product categories. In the 1980s, the company expanded into mail order sales.[3]
In 1990, Hans Thomann Jr. began managing Musikhaus Thomann. In 1996, the company established a website,[3] and began selling products online the following year, with sales of DM 800,000 in 1997.
Musikhaus Thomann is divided into three business units:
- Musikhaus Thomann – music store, warehouse, and logistics-center
- Thomann Direktversand and Thomann Cyberstore – distribution unit with about 3.1m customers and the thomann.de online platform; and
- Thomann Audio Professionell – installation unit for major projects serving theaters, stadiums and other venues
Between 2004 and 2012, the number of customers nearly tripled, slightly exceeding 3 million.
In 2004, the company achieved a turnover of EUR 10m.[7]
In 2006, the company disclosed a turnover of EUR 129m, making it one of the fifty fastest-growing companies in Bavaria once more.[8]
In September 2010, Musikhaus Thomann received the Versender des Jahres (Mail Order Business of the Year) Award from the German Association of Mail Order Companies. The panel of judges chose Musikhaus Thomann for its strong growth, commitment to innovation, and high level of customer satisfaction.[9]
In 2011, Musikhaus Thomann was presented with the Global E-Commerce Award (Gold) at the Global E-Commerce Summit in Barcelona. Eight national winners competed for the European prize. Thomann was the German nominee, having won the 2010 Mail Order Business of the Year Award. The jury noted that Thomann had demonstrated "the ability to tap into a market segment that a few years ago nobody believed could be served through internet retail"[10][11]
In 2022, Thomann GmbH achieved a turnover of around € 1.31 billion euros.
In 2025, Thomann acquired German-based amplifier manufacturer Hughes & Kettner.[12]
Store-brands
Thomann sells several store brands,[13] including:
- Harley Benton (plucked and string instruments, accessories, guitar and bass amplifiers, effect pedals)
- Fun Generation (lightning effects)
- Startone (wind instruments, brass instruments, accordions, guitars, music stands)
- Lead Foot (foot switches)
- Millenium (drum sets, percussion, stands)
- Roth & Junius (bowed string instruments, grand pianos)
- Stairville (lighting effects)
- A rough literal English translation of "Treppendorf"
- Swissonic (audio recorders, studio amplification, MIDI keyboards)
- the box, the box pro (PA loudspeakers)
- the sssnake, pro snake (cables, leads)
- the t.akustik (damping and absorption material)
- the t.amp (PA amplification)
- the t.mix (powered mixers, accessories)
- the t.meter (studio meters, indicators)
- the t.bone (microphones, headphones)
- As part of the t.bone brand, Thomann distributes a wide range of microphones from the two largest producers in China
- the t.racks (rack equipment, accessories)
- Thomann (various products)
- Thon (flight cases, hard cases, racks)
- Hughes & Kettner (guitare amp)
References
- ^ a b "Impressum und rechtliche Hinweise". thomann.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-26.
- ^ "Thomann GmbH". Dun & Bradstreet.
- ^ a b c Margolis, Daniel (12 January 2021). "European Powerhouse: How Thomann Grew Out of Its Family Home To Become An International MI Giant". Music Inc. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ "Impressum". thomann.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2015-03-31. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
- ^ Litzlfelder, Matthias (8 July 2014). "Thomann gibt weiter den Ton an". Fränkischer Tag (de). p. 7 (in German).
- ^ "Thomann Musikhaus: How A Small-Town Upbringing, Relentless Drive, And A Belief That The Customer Is Always Right (even when he's wrong) Propelled Germany-Based Thomann Musik To The Top Of The European Market". The Music Trades. September 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ Galau, Christoph (24 August 2004). "Hans Thomann - Vom Wohnzimmer-Händler zum Branchenführer". Stern. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Bayerns Best 50 — Preisträger 2006" (PDF). 28 June 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Instrumenten-Versender Thomann erhält Auszeichnung," Bild (online edition), September 29, 2010 (accessed 1 July 2012)
- ^ "Thomann.de gewinnt goldenen: European E-Commerce Award in Barcelona". e-commercefacts.com. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Thomann.de Wins European E-Commerce Gold Award". Audiofanzine. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Thomann übernimmt Hughes & Kettner - wie geht's weiter mit der Kultmarke?". Gitarre&Bass. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "List of Thomann Store Brands". Thomann. Retrieved 1 July 2012.