Sweetwater Announces Another Record Year

Sweetwater, the No. 1 online retailer of music instruments and pro audio gear, experienced another record-setting year in terms of sales growth and job creation.

Total sales in 2018 were $725 million, up 17% from $619 million in 2017, which was also a record-breaking year.

Sweetwater's annual total sales increases have ranged from 17% to 28% every year since 2010.

The company sold more than 128,000 guitars in 2018, up from 107,000 in 2017. There was significant growth across all product categories, with the biggest increases being in pro audio, synthesizers, drums, guitars and microphones.

Employment growth continued with addition of nearly 400 employees, from 1132 at the end of 2017 to 1531 at the end of 2018. As many as 40 percent of employees are being hired from outside the Fort Wayne area.

"We are proud to bring so many talented workers to Sweetwater and for them to make Fort Wayne their home," said Senior Vice President of Human Resources Jeff McDonald. "It's clear that Sweetwater has become an employer of choice, allowing us to attract the best and brightest to our outstanding campus."

More students took lessons at the Sweetwater Academy last year than the previous year, clocking over 14,000 hours with the Academy's 37 instructors. In 2017 there were 700 active students. That number jumped to 850 in 2018.

The extremely popular GearFest, the industry's largest free trade show open to the general public, continued to grow in 2018, with 15,000 attendees from all 50 states and several countries. The event on June 22 & 23 featured over 430 vendors and an impressive lineup of artists, producers and other special guests who hosted more than 90 seminars and breakout sessions.

Sweetwater's partnership with Purdue University became official last summer, when the school's Music Technology Program opened on the Sweetwater campus. On August 20, 45 students began taking classes in the 8,000-square-foot facility that is home to a world-class recording studio, editing suites, equipment library, and more.

In October, leaders announced plans for a major expansion at the company's 163-acre campus located on U.S. Highway 30 in Fort Wayne. The $76.4 million dollar project includes the addition of an 350,000 square feet warehouse and a 30,000 square feet event center along with the addition of more than 1000 jobs over five years. Construction is already underway on the warehouse. Both buildings will be operational in 2020.

Sweetwater Founder & CEO Chuck Surack said, "I'm excited about the expansion and what the next few years will bring. From our humble beginnings in the back of a VW bus to the state-of-the-art facility we have today, this growth wouldn't have been possible without our loyal customers and hardworking employees."

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