Crossmark
Crossmark is a U.S. consumer-goods sales, retail-services, marketing, and analytics company operating as part of Acosta Group.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Crossmark is a consumer-goods sales and marketing services company whose work connects manufacturers, retailers, and shoppers across the retail ecosystem. Its service portfolio covers headquarters sales support, in-store merchandising, retail operations, shopper marketing, experiential activation, promotions, insights, analytics, and technology-enabled reporting. The company serves consumer packaged goods businesses and retail channels including grocery, mass retail, club, drug, convenience, and home-improvement stores. The business traces its origins to 1905, when Willis Johnson and E. Leslie Hunt established Johnson and Hunt Merchandise Brokers in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The original operation functioned as a provision supply point for parties traveling toward the Oklahoma Territory. Over time, it developed from a regional merchandise-brokerage operation into a broader sales and marketing agency. In 1914, the company adopted the name Willis Johnson & Company and moved its operations to Little Rock, Arkansas. The company’s history includes several related brokerage and agency developments. The W.L. Gordon Company was formed in Dallas in 1944, while Phillips Brokerage Company was established in Birmingham in 1953. In 1977, Johnson and Hunt Merchandise Brokers rebranded as SALES MARK, reflecting an increasingly nationwide focus on rotating products and maintaining shelf presence. The business later became known as Crossmark and expanded its role from traditional brokerage into integrated retail execution and shopper-marketing services. Crossmark grew substantially through the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In 1997, it was described as one of three companies controlling a large majority of the sales and marketing services sector. By 2012, reports identified the company as being based in Plano, Texas, with approximately 34,000 employees and estimated annual revenue of about $1 billion; these figures are historical and are not presented as current financial data. In December of that year, a majority interest was sold to private-equity firm Warburg Pincus. The company pursued capability expansion through acquisitions and organizational investments. In 2013, it agreed to acquire Marketing Werks and subsequently acquired both Marketing Werks and PromoWorks, strengthening its experiential, shopper-marketing, and activation capabilities. Crossmark also established a Center for Collaboration in Bentonville, Arkansas, which opened in 2014. In 2017, Walmart selected Crossmark as one of five Preferred Services Providers authorized to perform approved merchandising services in Walmart stores on behalf of retailers or suppliers. In 2018, WIS International acquired Crossmark and Lawrence Merchandising Services. Lawrence Merchandising Services was renamed Crossmark Retail Solutions, bringing another retail-execution operation under the Crossmark identity. In 2022, WIS announced that Marketing Werks, PromoWorks, and Crossmark Events would be combined under the Product Connections name. Product Connections continued as a distinct agency brand after the later acquisition of Crossmark. Acosta Group agreed in May 2024 to acquire Crossmark from WIS International, and the transaction was completed two months later. In July 2024, Crossmark joined Acosta Group’s collection of agencies, which is organized around integrated omnichannel solutions for consumer brands and retailers. The transaction also included Product Connections, which remained a separate brand within the group. Crossmark’s present positioning is therefore that of a specialized retail and consumer-marketing services brand within a larger agency platform rather than an independent public company.
History
Crossmark began in 1905 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, as Johnson and Hunt Merchandise Brokers, founded by Willis Johnson and E. Leslie Hunt. The original business supplied provisions to groups traveling toward the Oklahoma Territory. Its early role was therefore closer to regional merchandise brokerage and provisioning than to the integrated retail-services model associated with the company today. In 1914, the enterprise was renamed Willis Johnson & Company and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. The company’s broader historical network included the W.L. Gordon Company, established in Dallas in 1944, and Phillips Brokerage Company, established in Birmingham in 1953. These developments reflected the growth of sales-brokerage organizations serving manufacturers and retailers across multiple U.S. markets. In 1943, Willis Johnson Sr. was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to serve in the National Office of Price Administration for a two-year assignment. In 1977, Johnson and Hunt Merchandise Brokers adopted the SALES MARK name. The rebranding accompanied a more national operating model focused on traveling to stores and rotating products on shelves, an early form of the retail-execution work that later became central to Crossmark’s business. By the late twentieth century, Crossmark had become a significant sales and marketing-services provider to consumer-goods companies. In 1997, it was identified as one of three companies controlling approximately three-quarters of the industry. By 2012, historical reporting described the Plano, Texas-based company as having about 34,000 employees and estimated annual revenue near $1 billion. In December 2012, Warburg Pincus acquired a majority interest. The 2010s brought a series of capability and channel expansions. InformationWeek recognized Crossmark in 2010 and 2011 for innovative use of business technology. In 2013, Crossmark pursued Marketing Werks and then acquired Marketing Werks and PromoWorks, both Chicago-based agencies associated with experiential, promotional, and shopper-marketing work. Mike Graen joined the company in 2013 as vice president and managing director of the Center for Collaboration in Bentonville, Arkansas; the center opened in July 2014. Crossmark’s retail-execution credentials were further reinforced in 2017 when Walmart selected it as one of five Preferred Services Providers for Walmart’s Merchandising Services Program. In 2018, WIS International acquired Crossmark and Lawrence Merchandising Services. Lawrence Merchandising Services was subsequently renamed Crossmark Retail Solutions. The ownership change placed Crossmark within a larger retail-inventory and merchandising-services organization. In 2022, WIS announced a further consolidation of Marketing Werks, PromoWorks, and Crossmark Events under the Product Connections name, separating those activation-oriented operations from the primary Crossmark identity while retaining them within the broader corporate structure. Acosta Group announced an agreement to acquire Crossmark from WIS International in May 2024. The transaction closed two months later, and in July 2024 Crossmark joined Acosta Group’s collective of agencies. Product Connections was included in the transaction but continued as a distinct brand. Crossmark now operates as an Acosta Group subsidiary and represents the group’s capabilities in sales services, retail solutions, marketing activation, insights, and analytics for consumer brands and retailers.
- 2024
Joined Acosta Group
[1]Acosta Group completed its acquisition of Crossmark from WIS International, with Crossmark becoming part of Acosta Group’s agency collective.
- 2022
Related activation agencies consolidated as Product Connections
[1]Marketing Werks, PromoWorks, and Crossmark Events were brought together under the Product Connections name.
- 2018
Acquired by WIS International
[1]WIS International acquired Crossmark and Lawrence Merchandising Services.
- 2017
Selected for Walmart’s Preferred Services Provider program
[1]Walmart selected Crossmark as one of five approved providers for its Merchandising Services Program.
- 2014
Center for Collaboration opened
[1]Crossmark opened its Center for Collaboration in Bentonville, Arkansas, following the appointment of Mike Graen to lead the initiative.
- 2012
Majority interest sold to Warburg Pincus
[1]Warburg Pincus acquired a majority interest in Crossmark.
- 2011
Second InformationWeek recognition
[1]Crossmark was again included in InformationWeek’s ranking of innovative business-technology users.
- 2010
Recognized by InformationWeek
[1]Crossmark appeared on InformationWeek’s list of innovative users of business technology.
- 1977
Rebranded as SALES MARK
[1]The business adopted the SALES MARK name while expanding nationwide shelf-rotation and retail-execution work.
- 1943
Willis Johnson Sr. joined the National Office of Price Administration
[1]Willis Johnson Sr. received a presidential appointment to the National Office of Price Administration for a two-year assignment.
Products and positioning
A retail and consumer-marketing services partner for consumer packaged goods companies and retailers, combining sales representation, physical store execution, shopper activation, and data-driven insights.
Sales representation
Headquarters Sales Services
Crossmark supports consumer-goods companies in their relationships with retail buyers and headquarters teams. Activities include pursuing listings, managing promotional budgets, coordinating sales programs, and helping manufacturers translate commercial plans into retailer-specific execution.
Retail execution
Retail Solutions
Retail Solutions covers field-based work such as in-store merchandising, shelf maintenance, compliance checks, display programs, retail operations support, and other services designed to improve the physical availability and presentation of products.
Shopper and experiential marketing
Marketing Solutions
The marketing offering includes shopper marketing, promotions, brand activations, experiential engagements, and field programs. Crossmark expanded this capability through its historical relationships with Marketing Werks, PromoWorks, and Crossmark Events, whose activation operations later became associated with Product Connections.
Retail data and analytics
Insights and Analytics
Crossmark provides research, data modeling, reporting, and technology-supported analysis intended to help brands understand retail conditions, shopper behavior, execution quality, and performance indicators across channels.
Brand decisions
2024
Acquired by Acosta GroupM&ABackground
Crossmark was operating as part of WIS International before Acosta Group agreed to acquire the business.
Action taken
Acosta Group agreed to acquire Crossmark in May and completed the transaction two months later.
Aftermath
Crossmark joined Acosta Group’s integrated agency structure, while Product Connections continued as a separate brand within the acquired portfolio.
2022
Consolidated activation agencies under Product ConnectionsStrategyBackground
WIS International sought to organize several marketing and events operations under a unified agency identity.
Action taken
Marketing Werks, PromoWorks, and Crossmark Events were merged under the Product Connections name.
Aftermath
Product Connections became a distinct agency brand associated with the broader Crossmark and WIS organization.
2017
Participated in Walmart’s Preferred Services Provider programStrategyBackground
Walmart established an approved-provider structure for merchandising services carried out in its stores on behalf of retailers or suppliers.
Action taken
Walmart selected Crossmark as one of five Preferred Services Providers.
Aftermath
Crossmark received authorization to perform approved merchandising work within the program.
2013
Expanded into experiential and shopper marketing through agency acquisitionsM&ABackground
Crossmark sought to broaden its traditional sales and retail-execution base with stronger shopper-marketing and experiential capabilities.
Action taken
It agreed to acquire Marketing Werks and subsequently acquired Marketing Werks and PromoWorks.
Aftermath
The acquisitions expanded Crossmark’s marketing activation and experiential-services portfolio.
Recent events
- 2024
Acosta Group completed its acquisition of Crossmark[1]
M&A
Acosta Group acquired Crossmark from WIS International and incorporated it into a group of agencies offering integrated omnichannel services.
- 2022
Marketing Werks, PromoWorks, and Crossmark Events combined as Product Connections[1]
M&A
WIS International announced that three Crossmark-related agencies would operate under the Product Connections name.
- 2018
WIS International acquired Crossmark[1]
M&A
WIS International acquired Crossmark and Lawrence Merchandising Services; the latter was renamed Crossmark Retail Solutions.
- 2017
Walmart selected Crossmark as a Preferred Services Provider[1]
Other
Walmart named Crossmark one of five approved Preferred Services Providers for its Merchandising Services Program.
- 2013
Crossmark agreed to acquire Marketing Werks[1]
M&A
Crossmark agreed to acquire Chicago-based experiential marketing agency Marketing Werks as part of an expansion of its shopper-marketing capabilities.
- 2013
Crossmark acquired Marketing Werks and PromoWorks[1]
M&A
The acquisitions strengthened Crossmark’s marketing activation, experiential, and shopper-marketing services.
- 2012
Crossmark sold to Warburg Pincus[1]
M&A
A majority interest in Crossmark was sold to private-equity firm Warburg Pincus.
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