Thomann, the gear shop that’s helped millions of musicians find the gear that they love, is 70 today. And to mark the occasion they’ve released a no-holds-barred video insight into their past, present and future.
Entitled Behind The Passion, it’s a lavish affair, merging behind the scenes cut-aways (in which current CEO Hans Thomann clearly wishes that he hadn’t let a camera follow him night and day), set pieces to camera (showing the mighty size and breadth of the Thomann empire and gear range), and dramatised flashbacks (featuring actors depicting his father and family, the original store and the hard work that’s made the company what it is today).
We see Thomann debating with his wife as to whether he has a weakness for the business, or a passion. After some consideration they decide it’s a passion. “It’s very important to me that one day, when I’m no longer around, that it goes on like this,” he intones, and there’s no veiling the fact that he’s dedicated his entire life to Thomann and, while it’s been hugely successful, it’s clearly being a labour of love that has, at times, taken its toll.
There’s a brilliant likeness of the young Hans himself, displaying his huge product knowledge in his father’s store, helping customers find the perfect piece of gear for them. And all the while the town of Treppendorf – the birthplace of the company and still home to the Thomann empire – looms large in the story, being a vital, grounding presence in Thomann’s ethics, culture and vision.
From small beginnings
In 1954, Hans Thomann Senior quit his job as a travelling musician with the circus and set up his own music store in his home town. On the side, he continued to look after the family farm and travelled almost daily to Würzburg, 70 kilometres away, to study the trumpet.
And, be under no illusion. Treppendorf isn’t the kind of place that one would build a multinational corporation. It's a sleepy, agricultural town between Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Würzburg and isn’t exactly the place to open any kind of store, let alone transform it into the world’s largest musical instrument retailer.
And yet, Thomann, and his offspring, over the next 70 years, did just that.
Despite the store becoming ever larger and more respected and renowned, the family were always aware that in order to tempt musicians to travel to Treppendorf from musical hotbed Munich – a city with its own music stores, of course – they would have to do something different.
Thus the company’s love affair with the nascent internet began, becoming one of the first in the world to embrace the new world of online retail.
“They all said he was crazy. The whole industry said ‘Hans is going off the deep end’,” explains his wife, Gabriele. “Who would even buy a guitar or a piano over the internet? And he just stuck to his guns. For him everything was doable.”
And after finding success, the company only ever grew. Now there are countless warehouses and automated processes involved with Thomann’s empire effectively dwarfing Treppendorf with Hans Thomann as its king. And yet we see that the man still has time to personally phone and berate suppliers who aren’t on board with his standards. Good work!
It’s an amazing story and well worth a watch, if only to get a sneak peek as to the huge logistics behind the scenes that are required to deliver items as bulky and yet as delicate as a piano with the kind of care and customer service that Thomann has cultivated over 70 years in the business.
And it seems they’re not done yet. Thomann never stops expanding. Their 10 storey on-site store (displaying their full range of products) is about to be replaced by one even bigger which Hans Thomann promises will be “the best-looking shop in the world.”
We can't wait to see it. Here’s to 70 more years!
