Crossmark

Crossmark, Inc., stylized as CROSSMARK, is a sales and marketing services company that operates within the consumer goods industry.[2][3][4] The company was established in 1905 by Willis Johnson and E. Leslie Hunt in Fort Smith, Arkansas as a provision supply point for groups traveling to the Oklahoma Territory.[2][5][6] Crossmark contributes research and data to the Food Marketing Institute.[7] The company serves grocery, mass, club, drug, convenience store, and home improvement channels.[8]

Not to be confused with X mark or CrossMark.

Crossmark
IndustryConsumer goods
FoundedFort Smith, Arkansas, 1905
Founder
  • Willis Johnson
  • E. Leslie Hunt
Headquarters
Plano, Texas
Area served
North America, Australia, New Zealand
Key people
  • Chris Moye
  • (CEO)
  • Rudy Gonzalez
  • (CFO)
[1]
ServicesSales and marketing
Revenue$1b
OwnerPrivate Equity
Number of employees
40,000
Websitewww.crossmark.com

History
  • 1906 - Company founded as Johnson and Hunt Merchandise Brokers in Fort Smith, Arkansas [9]
  • 1914 - Company renamed Willis Johnson & Company, operations moved to Little Rock, Arkansas
  • 1943 - President Roosevelt names Willis Johnson Sr. to the national office of price and administration (two-year assignment)
  • 1944 - W.L. Gordon Company formed in Dallas, Texas
  • 1953 - Phillips Brokerage Company created in Birmingham, Alabama
  • 1960s and 70s - These three companies grew and prospered
  • 1977 - Willis Johnson Company calls on Sam Walton in 1977
  • 1981 - Willis Johnson Company changes its name to SalesMark
  • 1995 - Three companies and alpha one merges

In 1997, Crossmark was one of three companies that collectively controlled 75 percent of the sales and marketing services industry.[5] In 2012, The Dallas Morning News reported that the Plano, Texas-based Crossmark had 34,000 employees and has an estimated annual revenue of $1 billion.[10][2][5] In December 2012, a majority of the company was sold to the private equity firm Warburg Pincus.[11][12] In November 2013, Crossmark acquired the assets of PromoWorks.[13]

Products and services

Crossmark's services include headquarter sales, retail merchandising, in-store data collection, event marketing, retail technology, and retail analytics.[14]

On August 6, 2013, Crossmark agreed to buy Marketing Werks in Chicago. The Marketing Werks deal will contribute to its total annual revenue of nearly $1 billion.[10][15] Marketing Werks, based in Chicago, provides experiential marketing campaigns for companies in several consumer industries. It will become part of Crossmark Marketing Services, which offers in-store events, experiential marketing, shopper marketing, consumer engagement and field intelligence. Mike Graen has joined CROSSMARK as Vice President/Managing Director for CROSSMARK's Center for Collaboration in Bentonville, Arkansas, which opened in July 2014.[16]

Recognition

In 2010[17] and 2011,[18] InformationWeek ranked Crossmark on its list of most-innovative users of business technology.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Crossmark Named a Top Technology Innovator". CSPNet. September 27, 2011. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  3. "CROSSMARK, MARS Advg. Launch Shopper Marketing Venture". Progressive Grocer. December 12, 2011. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  4. "Crossmark to Acquire NCiM". Progressive Grocer. December 1, 2011. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  5. "Crossmark quietly makes its mark for big-name brands" (PDF). Dallas Morning News. August 26, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  6. "Crossmark History". Crossmark. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  7. "Retailers Face a Customer-Centric Universe: FMI". Supermarket News. April 30, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  8. "Bloomberg Businessweek Company Profile". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  9. "CROSSMARK 100-Year Anniversary Video". CROSSMARK. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  10. "Plano-based Crossmark to buy Chicago consumer marketing firm". Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  11. Halkias, Maria. "Plano-based Crossmark sold to private equity firm Warburg Pincus". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  12. "Investor Buys Majority Stake in Crossmark". Supermarket News. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  13. "Crossmark Acquires Shopper Engagement Firm PromoWorks". Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  14. "Crossmark Names New President of U.S. Sales Agency". February 8, 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  15. "Crossmark to Buy Marketing Werks". Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  16. "Mike Graen to Lead CROSSMARK's Center for Collaboration". Reuters. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  17. "Crossmark Named to InformationWeek 500". InformationWeek. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  18. "Crossmark Named a Top Technology Innovator". CSPnet.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
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