The Stable, a commerce agency back by private equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners (GCP) that supports consumer brands across retail and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels, has acquired Arkansas-based Walmart agency The Retail Firm.
Founded in 2018 by Josh Breeden and joined later by Chad Goss and Kevin Head, The Retail Firm offers full-service sales support, supply chain services, intuitive data analytics, and category insights to help accelerate sales and improve efficiencies for national brands including Hello Bello, Oculus, and private-label suppliers at Walmart and Sam’s Club.
“We have been following The Retail Firm over the last couple years and have been really impressed by their growth and positioning within in the marketplace,” says Nik Larsen, president of The Stable. “The way they approach partnerships and the tools they have built to enhance their clients business at Walmart aligns really well with us.”
The Stable, known for introducing brands including Function of Beauty, Ring, and Cora into retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, and Amazon, has spent the year expanding its omni-channel service offering and aligning the agency to activate and support brands across all channels of commerce. In 2020, the agency acquired retail shop Kreative, e-commerce tech company RichContext, and sales and marketing firm Jacobs Marketing.
Breeden said the acquisition will rise all tides. “In an increasingly competitive retail sector, our suppliers need better data, quicker insights, and healthier supply chains to standout and grow at Walmart,” says Breeden. “The Stable provides the ideal platform for our partners to accelerate growth and for our enhanced organization to add value to Walmart.
As for The Stable, the union will strengthen the company’s existing Walmart division by bringing together retail sales, operations, digital, creative, technology, data, and their patented adtech platform Hyphen™ all under one roof. And, it cements The Stable as one of the leading omni-channel agencies supporting brands at Walmart.
“Without question, Walmart remains a key strategy for The Stable given the acceleration in e-commerce and continued dominance in the marketplace,” says The Stable CEO Chad Hetherington. “This acquisition will amplify our capabilities, giving us access to more tools and talent to help drive even stronger results for the brand partners we collectively represent.”
Goss will lead the combined Walmart team and be tasked with integrating the companies under The Stable’s brand within the coming months to ensure client revenue at Walmart continues to accelerate. Breeden will spearhead partnerships and retail technology development.
“We want to give our clients access to better insights and technology that they have never leveraged before to scale their business at retail,” adds Breeden.
The combined company will now employ approximately 300 people with offices in Minneapolis, Bentonville, and Seattle.
