The Stable Acquires Walmart Agency
“In an increasingly competitive retail sector, our suppliers need better data, quicker insights, and healthier supply chains to standout and grow at Walmart,” Breeden said in the release. “The Stable provides the ideal platform for our partners to accelerate growth and for our enhanced organization to add value to Walmart.”
“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,” said The Stable CEO Chad Hetherington in the release.
The Stable, a commerce agency that supports brand launches online and in stores, has acquired Arkansas-based agency The Retail Firm, marking the Minneapolis-based agency’s fourth acquisition since 2020.
The Retail Firm was founded in 2018 by Josh Breeden. Chad Goss and Kevin Head later joined as partners. It provides sales support, supply chain services, data analytics and category insights to national brands including celeb-backed Hello Bello, consumer electronics brand Oculus and private-label suppliers at Walmart and Sam’s Club.
“We have been following The Retail Firm over the last couple of years and have been really impressed by their growth and positioning within in the marketplace,” said Nik Larsen, president of The Stable, in a media release announcing the merger, adding that the way the agency approaches partnerships and its tools aligns well with The Stable.
The Stable, known for introducing brands including digital-native brand Function of Beauty, Ring, and Cora into retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon, has spent this year growing its omnichannel service offerings and support for brands “across all channels of commerce,” per the release. In 2020, the agency acquired retail shop Kreative, e-commerce tech company RichContext and sales and marketing firm Jacobs Marketing.
he combined company will now employ approximately 300 people with offices in Minneapolis, Seattle and Bentonville, AR. Goss will lead the combined Walmart team and be tasked with integrating the companies under The Stable brand in the coming months, while Breeden will spearhead partnerships and retail technology development. Head will develop opportunities for Walmart’s brand partners in the food and consumables businesses.
The Stable hopes this merger will strengthen its existing Walmart division by bringing together retail sales, operations, digital, creative, technology, data and its patented AdTech platform Hyphen all in one place.