RichContext, retail tech agency in Rogers, acquired by Minnesota firm

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 5,258 views 

From left, RichContext co-founders Troy Gasnier, Billy Courtney and Breck Kelley.

The Stable, a consumer brand agency based in Minneapolis, has acquired RichContext, a retail technology company based in Rogers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a news release Monday (Nov. 9).

RichContext builds products that suppliers and retailers use to be more effective in conducting business through the digital retail channel. Three years ago, RichContext worked with less than 10 brands. Today, the company counts well over 200 companies among its clients including General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Kimberly-Clark and Hasbro.

Billy Courtney, Breck Kelley and Troy Gasnier launched the business in 2016. Earlier this year, RichContext released a new mobile e-commerce platform called Hyphen, providing brands a way to connect display and social media to commerce.

“Going to market today requires truly connected efforts between physical and digital channels,” Courtney said in a statement. “We have been advancing digital commerce for so many brands leveraging media, technology and data to increase product discovery and maximize conversion across multiple retailers.

“When we combine those efforts with the existing stack and equity of The Stable, we’re able to offer a total solution that is unmatched in the marketplace.”

The Stable, known for introducing brands including oral-health company quip, home security leader Ring, and women’s wellness brand Cora into retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon, has spent the year expanding its service offering and aligning the agency to activate and support brands across all channels of commerce.

“As the trend toward online shopping continues to accelerate and social commerce has emerged as a legitimate platform for consumers to discover and buy products, the acquisition of RichContext and its proprietary social commerce technologies will help us quickly become a leading solution for brands that need to penetrate the fast-changing world of e-commerce,” The Stable President Nik Larsen said in a statement.

RichContext’s 30 employees will be folded into The Stable and operate under that agency’s brand by early 2021. The combined company will employ more than 150 people with offices in Minneapolis, Bentonville, Seattle and Austin.