type private industry pro audio video lighting and musical instruments founded 1977 headquarters madison wi key people jonathan lipp ceo founder susan lipp chairman mark nash president doug carnell coo products pro audio video tv photo musical instruments lighting and theatrical computers and software number of employees 200 website www.fullcompass.com full compass systems is a us retailer of professional audio professional video lighting equipment and musical instruments . in addition to offering over 700 equipment brands they also provide services such as computer systems integration and equipment rentals rentals available in wi only . full compass is an authorized service center and parts distributor for many brands they carry . the company was founded in 1977 by jonathan lipp and is located in madison wisconsin . 1 contents 1 overview 2 history 2.1 early years 2.2 1980 2000 2.3 2000 to present 3 references overview edit full compass 140 000 sq. ft. corporate headquarters serves as the distribution center for all shipped merchandise as well as a walk in retail store for local customers . the 80 000 sq. ft. warehouse stocks over 700 equipment brands . 2 the facility also features two working production studios a technology museum that is open to the public and an on site backstage bistro with a full time kitchen staff to serve employees and visitors . 1 highly trained sales professionals make up about one third of the approximately 200 employees at full compass . with annual sales topping 130 million in 2014 it is recognized as one of the largest woman owned business in wisconsin . 3 the company hosts audio and video clinics that are open to the public and feature various artist and sound engineers . 4 the company also hosts monthly technology expos that are open to the public and feature new products from suppliers . history edit early years edit full compass systems began in 1971 as a professional sound studio in madison wi founded by mike kuehl and rick murphy . johnathan lipp was brought into the company as an investor after construction began . in 1977 jonathan lipp current ceo founded and incorporated full compass systems ltd. to provide professional sound equipment to a wider market . 2 his wife susan lipp joined the company as president and 2nd employee in 1978 and added her experience in marketing personnel management and theatrical production . 5 1980 2000 edit the company opened its first retail store in madison wi in 1979 with a staff of four and offered lighting equipment in addition to audio equipment . 6 by the end of the 1980s the company grew to 50 employees with annual sales of more than 8 million and expanded its product line to over 350 equipment manufacturers including video and theatrical equipment . during the 1990s full compass offered its first color catalog grew to 104 employees and reached an annual sales of more than 50 million . 7 in 1995 the company s enormous growth prompted the need for expansion into a 72 000 sq. ft. building with a 42 000 sq. ft. warehouse in middleton wi . 8 in 1998 the company formed its computer integration department to address the increasing use of computers in the industry and opened its compass xpress division to serve customers in off hours . 9 2000 to present edit the 2000s continued the retail industry s shift to ecommerce . 10 full compass responded in 2003 and 2004 by beginning to sell products on ebay.com and amazon.com respectively . shortly thereafter the company launched its own ecommerce site in 2006 . 6 by 2008 the company s inventory had grown too large for the middleton facility . a new 140 000 sq. ft. facility was designed built and occupied by july 1 2009 and is the current headquarters for full compass . 11 currently full compass employs a full time staff of approximately 200 and has annual sales exceeding 130 million . 2 the company regularly releases a semi annual 540 page catalog for the spring summer and fall winter seasons . 12 references edit a b newman judy 2009 10 07 . growth at full compass leads to new 13.5 million building . wisconsin state journal . a b c sba 100 full compass systems . zaferos barb 2011 07 22 . top of the list women owned businesses software companies . the business journal . psw staff 2011 07 06 . sennheiser & full compass co sponsoring audio recording clinic featuring leslie ann jones . newman carlise 1999 06 27 . lipp takes family approach to build audio firm . the business journal . a b full compass systems company history . hawkins lee jr. 2000 09 10 . microphones help entrepreneurs amplify sales . milwaukee journal sentinel . p. 1d . news release full compass celebrates grand opening . 1996 01 25 . full compass systems integration . history of ecommerce . full compass systems begins move to 140 000 sf facility . 2009 06 17 . full compass catalog . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title full compass systems & oldid 709197015 categories music retailers of the united statesretail companies of the united statescompanies based in madison wisconsinretail companies established in 19771977 establishments in wisconsin navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 9 march 2016 at 17 20 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . 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