May 8, 2026, 12:15 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
With the radio device “Heinzelmann,” the brand Grundig began its rise in the 1950s to become a German traditional company of worldwide fame. But how is Grundig doing today?
From Fürth, company founder Max Grundig created a veritable radio equipment empire in just a few years. It was the time of the German economic miracle. People in Germany were once again indulging in things after the war, especially radios and televisions. However, Grundig also produced other electronic devices. The VCR would be the company’s downfall.
Overview
The Quiet Farewell to Grundig
The company began a steep decline in the early 1980s. In 1984, the Dutch company Philips took over the management of Grundig AG. The company and the name Grundig continued for some time, but the luster of the economic miracle era had faded.
In 2003, Grundig filed for bankruptcy. Various ownership changes followed. Today, the brand is part of the Beko Group, a subsidiary of the Turkish conglomerate Arçelik and a manufacturer of household appliances. However, even this did not lead Grundig to long-term success. After decades of decline, Grundig is finally withdrawing from the TV business in Europe. As of January 1, 2026, no new devices will be produced, and only existing stock will be sold.
For customers, little will change for the time being. Service, spare parts, and warranty processing are to remain assured, writes the “Süddeutsche Zeitung.” The company cites enormous competitive pressure and a price development that has made the TV segment a fiercely contested low-margin market for years as reasons for the exit.
The move marks the provisional endpoint of a long erosion of the once-iconic German electronics brand. Attempts to reconnect with new OLED models or the Google TV platform were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the brand diluted as it was increasingly used for household appliances–far removed from its origins as a premium provider of radio and television technology.
However, the name Grundig will not disappear entirely. The brand will continue to be used for other product segments where it is already established. So while the TV era of the traditional house ends, Grundig remains as a label in the household appliances sector–a quiet continuation of a name that has shaped the German electronics market for decades.
Grundig has also had to leave its Franconian home. The current company headquarters is in Eschborn, Hesse.
It All Begins in 1930
The story of Grundig begins in 1930 in Max Grundig’s small radio shop at the former Sternstraße 2 in Fürth. Since radio technology was still in its infancy, technical defects occurred repeatedly. Spare parts were in high demand. The company specialized in the production of transformers, as this component often failed in the early days of radio.
Like many others at the time, Grundig also profited from German war activities. The company supported the military with radio technology devices. The production was mainly carried out by forced laborers. A dark chapter in the company’s history.
Immediately after the end of World War II, Grundig launched the kit for the tube radio model “Heinzelmann”. With this radio, the brand’s star began to shine.
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A “Heinzelmann” Makes Grundig Famous
In 1949, the 100,000th “Heinzelmann” radio was sold. Grundig held a 20 percent market share in total radio sales, making it the market leader. By then, 800 people were working for the company, producing 12,000 radio devices monthly.
In 1951, Grundig even had its own factory TV channel that regularly broadcast a program. A historical footnote: German television, ARD, did not begin broadcasting until November 1, 1954.
Speaking of television: The manufacturer was already producing TV sets, even though the market was limited due to the (still) missing TV programming. In 1954, there were only about 100,000 registered televisions. But company founder Max Grundig believed in the new medium and served a market that would soon grow rapidly.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Grundig also produced other electronic items, such as dictation machines, tape recorders, cassette players, and car radios. The company was one of the first manufacturers to offer a color television and rose to become the largest television manufacturer in Germany in the 1960s.
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Grundig at Its Peak
In the early 1970s, portable radios and small portable TV sets followed. By the late 1970s, the company was at its peak. Nearly 39,000 people worked for the Fürth company. Grundig’s devices generated sales of more than 1.5 billion euros.
However, by this time, the first dark clouds were appearing on the company’s horizon. The competition from the Far East, especially Japan, was giving the German traditional company a hard time. Although Max Grundig had always had an excellent sense for trends throughout his entrepreneurial life, he seemed to have missed the mark with the VCR.
The company recognized the business potential in video technology far too late, and it was not alone. Other German brands like Nordmende and Telefunken also only saw the tail lights of the train heading to Asia.
As is often the case with technical innovations, a battle ensued over the best standard in video. Here, Grundig even tried to establish its own standard with the Video 2000 system. The competition from Asia opted for VHS and won.