Get to know the showpare AG

Our story

During the dotcom crisis, 16-year-old Stefan Hamann founded Hamann-Media GmbH in Münsterland in 2001. His brother Sebastian soon joined him, merging technology and design - a key element in the company's success. Despite development, the core values remained the same: open, authentic, visionary.

The beginning

16-year-old Stefan Hamann founds Hamann Media GmbH and quickly becomes the go-to person for all kinds of computer problems in the village of Schöppingen. After the company was founded, Stefan brought his brother Sebastian on board, who significantly shaped the company with his creativity. From then on, the different skills of the two brothers form the perfect symbiosis of technology and design.

Our first customer

The Hamann brothers receive an order from www.arktis.de to develop an individual shop system. The solutions already on the market are both technologically and visually inadequate at that time.

Stefan and Sebastian develop a shop system that sets new standards in technology and design terms. They take the decision to market the system as a standard product – and Shopware is born.

From 2007 to 2010

New Board member

Stefan Heyne, a mutual friend of the Hamann brothers, joins the company in 2007 as the third Board member. Based on his experience as a sales professional, Heyne sets up the structures for indirect sales in Germany and abroad.

The birth of shopware AG

The product name becomes the company name: the Hamann brothers and Stefan Heyne found shopware AG in 2008. Since the founding of the public company, Shopware has recorded annual growth rates of 30-40 percent.

Becoming open source

In autumn of 2010, Shopware brings an open source "Community Edition" to market. The company's strict belief in openness and "community-driven development" motivate the Schöppingen company to take a crucial strategic decision.

Being known

After the release of the open source version, the download figures break all records overnight and make the system known to the wider public. The trend of high annual growth rates has continued to this day – Shopware has backed the right horse.

From 2018 to 2020

The UK market

Since actively entering the UK market in 2016, the Shopware team has worked closely with our vast ecosystem of major brands and partner agencies to adapt our software for local requirements. With growth of 500% prior to the opening of the London office, the new premises allows us to further establish the UK as a core market.

Showpare 6 and the "Tower"

At Shopware Community Day 2019, we introduced Shopware 6, emphasizing flexibility and less complexity. Built with an API-first approach, it is prepared for every imaginable eCommerce scenario.

In the middle of the year, an additional company building, the 24-meter-high "Tower", was inaugurated due to continuous growth.

COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shopware offered special support for retailers to boost digital commerce in challenging times, demonstrating its commitment to supporting its user base.

Remarkable milestones

First investment in over 20 years. Together with Carlyle and PayPal, Shopware receives an investment of USD 100 million.

With our e-commerce solution, we are the market leader in Germany for the first time in 2022 according to EHI Top 1000 Shops, overtaking Magento with the most shops based on Shopware.

Shopware US is founded and the US business takes off.

AI features and being "Visionary"

With the introduction of the AI Copilot, we are the first to offer this innovative implementation of artificial intelligence in the field of e-commerce platforms.

Shopware has been included in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for the fourth consecutive year. Now classified as a "Visionary" for the first time, having been recognized as a "Niche Player" in the previous three years.

Fun facts about shopware AG

Did you know?

Did you know...

...that our tower has space for 150 employees and is 24 meters tall?

Did you know...

...that we have won the "Great Place to Work" award?

Did you know...

...that Stefan Hamann was actually too young to found a company?
Therefore he needed special permission from the district court.

Did you know...

...that we have already been invited to the Summer Festival of the parliamentary group for SMEs (PKM) by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel?

Did you know...

...that Shopware has created its own superhero, Shopman, and devoted a complete comic series to him?

Did you know...

...that we have our own mascot, Cody the elephant?

Did you know...

...that we are now presented on the US market?

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