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]
History
The company was founded in 1906 as Johnson and Hunt Merchandise Brokers in Fort Smith, Arkansas.[9] In 1914, the company was renamed as Willis Johnson & Company and operations moved to Little Rock, Arkansas.[citation needed]
In 1943, President Roosevelt named Willis Johnson Sr. to the National Office of Price and Administration, a two-year assignment.[citation needed]
In 1944, the W.L. Gordon Company formed in Dallas, Texas. In 1953 the Phillips Brokerage Company was created in Birmingham, Alabama.[citation needed]
In 1977, the Willis Johnson Company called on Sam Walton. In 1981, Willis Johnson Company changes its name to SalesMark.[citation needed]
In 1995, the three companies and alpha one merges.[citation needed]
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 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 October 2013, Mike Graen joined CROSSMARK as Vice President/Managing Director for CROSSMARK's Center for Collaboration in Bentonville, Arkansas, which opened in July 2014.[13][14]
Sales and acquisitions
Crossmark's services include headquarter sales, retail merchandising, in-store data collection, event marketing, retail technology, and retail analytics.[15]
On August 6, 2013, Crossmark agreed to buy Marketing Werks. The Marketing Werks deal will contribute to its total annual revenue of nearly $1 billion.[10][16]Based in Chicago, Marketing Werks provides experiential marketing campaigns for companies in several consumer industries.
In November 2013, Crossmark acquired the assets of PromoWorks.[17]
Recognition
In 2010[18] and 2011,[19] InformationWeek ranked Crossmark on its list of most-innovative users of business technology.
