Hans Thomann, pleased to meet you.
The company was founded by my father, Hans Thomann Sr., in 1954, and he entrusted me with managing it in 1990.
For myself as well as for everyone who works here, Thomann is much more than just a company that sells stuff to make money. Thomann is a project, and everyone is invited to contribute as long as their passion is music and they enjoy spending their time with other musicians.
Our company is sound; we do not depend on banks or any investors. We work in very flat hierarchies and are able to make decisions quickly.
I am very proud of this recipe for success, since it has allowed us to become the largest employer in our region and the largest mail order company for musical instruments as well as lighting and sound equipment globally.
Hans Thomann
Our Departments
Call Center
Logistics
Development / IT
Marketing
Service Center
Purchasing / Product Management
Accounting
t.kitchen
Audio Professional
Company History
On this page, we have collected some interesting milestones from Thomann's company history. Since developments have been rapid, particularly in recent years, we have left out some minor changes.
In 1954, Hans Thomann Sr. decided to give up his job as an itinerant musician and settled down, opening his own music shop while at the same time running the family farm and studying the trumpet.
Company Formation
Bit by bit, the living quarters and farm buildings were turned into shop floors: the barn doubled up as the lights department and cardboard storage, the former children’s bedroom became the accounting department. To its left you’ll see the Thomann family home. Both the barn and the house still exist, by the way, unchanged on the exterior.
The Home Shop
The first Hot Deals were sent out to our customers (about 10,000, mainly from the region). They listed about 100 items, but as yet without pictures. Later, we cut the pictures from manufacturers’ materials and the printers picked them up along with the hand-written Hot Deal lists.
The Hot Deals
We were the first music dealer in Germany to introduce their own website. Initially, we printed out all e-mails, took them to the relevant departments and answered them by mail. Of course, we don’t do that anymore – it wouldn’t be possible anyway, considering we get about 220,000 e-mails every day.
Hello, WorldWideWeb
Wanting to improve our customer service, we opened our first call centre in 1999. About 30 staff took calls – this number has grown to about 200 nowadays. They look after all our German-speaking and international customers.
The first Call Centre in Treppendorf
Our shipping centre repeatedly reached the limits of its capacity, and we therefore had to expand it in 2003, 2005 and 2009. With the last of these expansions, our logistics and shipping centre grew to 37,500 m², providing enough capacity for 10,000 pallets and 40,000 small parts. 500 employees work in this operation alone, and the department is sure to grow.
Logistics Centre Expansion
After three years of planning and construction, Treppendorf became home to the world’s largest service centre for musical instruments and equipment. Boasting more than 5,000m², it houses state-of-the-art workshops, test laboratories, a large replacement parts warehouse and an auditorium for events.
The World's largest Servcie Centre
A further expansion of our logistics operation became necessary if we wished to keep fulfilling orders as quickly as our customers had become used to. A completely new building was constructed, integrated with the 2009 warehouse and equipped with the latest technology, such as the fully automated pallet warehouse and a shuttle and twister storage, likewise fully automated.
Logistics Centre Expansion