MUSIC STORE History

The history of MUSIC STORE professional dates back to the early 1960s, when beat music was still in its infancy and the sound of electrically amplified instruments was slowly becoming fashionable. At this time, however, the electronic organs of the Italian manufacturer FARFISA were particularly popular, with their unique sound being immortalized on numerous genre-defining albums and songs by Pink Floyd, Elton John, Kraftwerk, Ton Steine Scherben, and many more in the following years. In 1960, Arthur Sauer became the first to establish a FARFISA distribution network for the German market to meet local demand.

Building on the success of electric organ sales, the Sauer family expanded beyond the original organ distribution into the broader musical instrument trade: MUSIC STORE was founded in 1972 on Bonner Straße in Cologne and expanded over the following years into a chain of stores with branches in Gummersbach, Neumünster, Heide, Lübeck, Bergisch Gladbach, Bensberg, and Husum. In the same year, Michael Sauer took over as CEO of FARFISA.

With smart marketing and a keen sense of the needs of the rock music scene at the time, the young company quickly became one of the largest musical instrument retailers in the country. Although most of the additional branches proved unprofitable and were quickly closed, except for Bensberg and Gummersbach, the company's annual sales rose to almost 40 million DM.

After the home organ boom reached its peak in the early 1980s and demand began to decline, Lear-Siegler Inc. sold the FARFISA corporation to Bontempi in 1983. As a result, the company left the Sauer's main building in Overath. Michael Sauer also stepped down from FARFISA's management and instead took over the leadership of MUSIC STORE Cologne.

While the organ industry was in decline, business for MUSIC STORE was booming: After moving to 'Große Budengasse' in the heart of downtown Cologne and close to the cathedral, visiting the main store naturally became a must for music enthusiasts!

It's no surprise, then, that in 1985, the originally planned move to the larger but less centrally located building in Overath was abandoned, and the 3500 m² of free space there was instead used as a warehouse.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, MUSIC STORE gradually expanded the business with additional stores within the vicinity of the main building. The now extensive Piano and Grand Piano Store was located at Große Budengasse 10, while the recording department moved into the former WDR building.

In 1993, MUSIC STORE Bensberg merged with the Gummersbach branch, which was subsequently enlarged. Additionally, in 1994, the company acquired the Hohe Str. Parking Garage opposite the main Cologne building and the Hertie Parking Garage at Neumarkt. While MUSIC STORE customers could now park for free here, all of Cologne benefited from the reduced parking fees of 2 DM!

Another important step was the establishment of the large central warehouse in Cologne's Rheinauhafen; the significantly expanded guitar and bass department moved into the parking garage. By the 25th anniversary in 1997, the company already had 4000 m² of exhibition, studio, and warehouse space and was one of the three largest music stores in Germany.

The new millennium began with a setback: The Rheinauhafen in Cologne was demolished, resulting in the loss of the central warehouse. Within four weeks, the entire warehouse had to be moved to the comparatively distant former Farfisa building in Overath.

However, there was good news with the extensive renovation and expansion of both parking garages. In 2000, the Hohe Str. parking garage was expanded with an additional 2000 m² of exhibition space featuring a huge PA hall, DJ equipment and professional recording departments, and a new Mac department. In 2002, the Neumarkt parking garage was renovated with a redesigned facade and approximately 10-ton sun wings that move up and down depending on the position of the sun.

In 2003, MUSIC STORE acquired a 150-meter-long warehouse at Cologne's wholesale market with state-of-the-art shipping logistics, allowing the main central warehouse to finally move back closer to the main store. Two years later, another extension was added here with its own packing station and additional rooms for the call center team to handle the steadily growing number of orders even more efficiently.

As it became increasingly difficult to continuously expand the sales and warehouse space in the winding streets of Cologne's old town, the decision was finally made in 2009: We are moving!

The groundbreaking ceremony on September 17, 2009, marked the start of construction on the new MUSIC STORE building with a huge sales area and a state-of-the-art shipping warehouse on the other side of the Rhine in Cologne-Kalk. This new location was specifically tailored to the demands of modern musical instrument retailing, centrally located and with direct access to the highway to handle shipping orders quickly and efficiently.

In 2010, MUSIC STORE acquired the brand rights to keyboard and organ manufacturer Wersi. The instruments are now manufactured in Hohentengen, while software development takes place at MUSIC STORE.

In 2011, the moment finally arrived: On May 16, the brand-new MUSIC STORE professional opened at Istanbulstraße 22–26 with spectacular opening weeks, including lots of deals, show acts, and workshops!

In 2013, the company acquired shares in the charter airline Silver Cloud Air and has since flown numerous world-renowned musicians to performance locations around the globe.

After DV247, one of the largest musical instrument retailers in the UK, ran into financial difficulties in 2015, MUSIC STORE took over the company and saved the DV247 branch in Romford, which has since served as a base on the other side of the English Channel.

Meanwhile, there were also significant developments in the Cologne store: The piano department moved to the atrium and is gradually being expanded into the largest grand piano exhibition in the area, while the showroom for Custom Shop Guitars doubled in size. In 2016, the neighboring property was also acquired to provide around 200 additional parking spaces for the ever-growing customer traffic.

In 2022, a major milestone was celebrated: 50 years of MUSIC STORE! Major industry players such as Fender, Marshall, Hohner, DW, Fame, and many more, who have maintained business relationships with MUSIC STORE over the decades, celebrated the anniversary with numerous special deals and unique 50th Anniversary MUSIC STORE special editions of their most popular products.