EMP Merchandising also known as Large Popmerchandising (in
The Netherlands and
Belgium) is a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
-based
music mail order and merchandising store. The "E.M.P." abbreviation stands for ''Exclusive Merchandise Products''. The company distributes a quarterly catalog to customers.
In a 2003 report, the Osnabrück Chamber of Commerce considered the company to be the largest mail order business for
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
and
heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...
in Germany.
In September 2018,
Warner Music Group acquired EMP from
Sycamore Partners.
History
EMP was founded in 1986 by Felix Lethmate. The business started in an apartment in
Lingen in
Emsland
Landkreis Emsland () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (district of Steinfur ...
and developed in a short time into a company that employed more than 500 people across Europe in December 2016.
Distributed are sound carriers and merchandising items (fanshirts, banners, etc.) of metal and rock bands, music videos and recordings of live performances, movies of all genres, gaming, fun slogan shirts and other clothing items and
accessories. A separate category for
hip hop recordings was discontinued after the hip-hop mail order compan
MZEE.comwas taken over, which was temporarily a subsidiary of EMP Merchandising HGmbH. Today, the company distributes its merchandise throughout Europe.
On January 31, 2014, another store opened in
Vienna. Other stores are located in
Wietmarschen (EMP Outlet Store A31),
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
,
Leipzig,
Nuremberg, Dortmund and Lingen.
In July 2015, the company, previously owned by its founders, was sold to the U.S.-based
private equity company Sycamore Partners, also the owner of
Belk Inc., among others.
In September 2018,
Warner Music Group acquired the company at a company valuation of 155 million euros.
EMP Magazine
On January 31, 2014, a store opened in
Vienna, other stores are located in
Wietmarschen (EMP Outlet Store A31),
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
,
Leipzig,
Nuremberg,
Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
and
Lingen.
In July 2015, the company, previously owned by its founders, was sold to the U.S.-based
private equity company Sycamore Partners, also the owner of
Belk Inc., among others.
In September 2018,
Warner Music Group acquired the company at a company valuation of 155 million euros.
Since 1998, the company produces a magazine that is mailed quarterly to customers, and is also available in newsagents. This magazine, which serves primarily as a
mail order catalog
Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as:
* Sending an order form in the mail
* Placing a telephone call
* Placing a ...
, includes CD reviews of new releases and interviews with relevant bands. The magazine's circulation is around 1 million copies. A separate magazine was published for MZEE until 2012.
Awards
* 2007
ECHO in the category trade partner of the year.
* 2015 NEO Award 2015
* 2020 Social Media Award STORYCLASH
References
External links
German websiteInternational website
{{Warner Music Group
Retail companies of Germany
Warner Music Group