Channel Partners acquires Retail Merchandising Services, uniting 40 years of field execution with real-time retail intelligence.
TAMPA, FL, UNITED STATES, May 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Deal unites 40 years of in-store merchandising mastery with the industry’s most advanced field intelligence platform, redefining what brands can expect from retail execution.
Channel Partners Solutions (Channel Partners) today announced the acquisition of Retail Merchandising Services (RMS), a national merchandising powerhouse headquartered in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The deal promises to pair RMS’s four decades of in-store execution discipline with Channel Partners’ technology-driven field intelligence platform, creating one of the most comprehensive retail execution operations in the country and setting a new performance standard for brands and retailers across every channel and category.
Founded in 1985, RMS has spent 40 years doing what most providers only promise: showing up, getting it right, and earning trust one store visit at a time. Its national field team covers all 50 states, Alaska and Hawaii included, and holds the coveted Target Preferred Partner designation, a hard-won credential that unlocks backroom certification and direct access to Target’s MyDevice for inventory audits, pricing verification, and stocking. Behind the field team sits a leadership group with more than 150 years of combined executive retail experience spanning store operations, merchandising, and supply chain.
A Bigger Bet on Getting It Right
“You cannot manufacture 40 years of execution discipline. You cannot shortcut the trust RMS has built with brands and retailers, or the credentials their team has earned one store at a time. That is exactly why this acquisition matters. It is not a bigger footprint play. It is a better outcome play, for every client counting on us to perform where it actually counts: at the shelf.”
— Jim Fulk, CEO, Channel Partners
40 Years of Expertise, Meet Real-Time Intelligence
For RMS, joining Channel Partners means plugging decades of on-the-ground know-how into a technology stack that turns every store visit into actionable data. Channel Partners’ OpenSky™ (a proprietary field intelligence platform) delivers real-time visit verification, AI-powered photo validation, and client-facing dashboards that show brands exactly what is happening in their stores as it happens. RMS merchandisers will gain access to a broader technology stack, a national network spanning seven additional solution areas, and the operational depth of a company running programs across thousands of retail locations simultaneously.
“For 40 years, RMS has delivered results the right way, through disciplined execution, earned trust, and the commitment of the people who show up in stores every day. Joining Channel Partners allows us to build on that foundation with a shared focus on accountability, insight, and measurable outcomes. As we move forward, we’ll thoughtfully introduce powerful capabilities like OpenSky™ later this year and into 2027, enhancing visibility and intelligence without ever losing what makes RMS exceptional. This milestone belongs to all our clients, every past and present team member whose work built this company and to those who will help define what comes next.”
— Kati Piorkowski, President and COO, RMS
What It Means for Clients
RMS will operate within Channel Partners, with its field programs to be powered by OpenSky™ for real-time reporting, visit verification, and full client visibility. Existing RMS clients will continue to be served by the teams they know and trust, now backed by a deeper bench of retail execution capabilities.
Together, Channel Partners and RMS will deliver end-to-end retail execution across Merchandising and Resets, Break Fix and Continuity, Assisted Sales and Training, Audits and Compliance, Experiential Marketing, Warehousing and Fulfillment, and Construction. The combined organization serves brands and retailers across consumer electronics, grocery, health and beauty, food and beverage, and other categories, with every program executed by a W-2 employee model built for accountability, not coverage.
Channel Partners is built around a simple conviction: brands deserve more than store visits and hours logged. Where legacy providers sell coverage, Channel Partners delivers Retail Intelligence™, a fully integrated ecosystem that connects every aspect of the consumer retail journey into a single, accountable program. Powered by OpenSky™ and executed by a national W-2 field team, every Channel Partners engagement produces real-time intelligence, measurable outcomes, and a level of execution accountability that a la carte solutions cannot match.
About Retail Merchandising Services
Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, RMS is a national merchandising company serving brands, retailers, and brokers across food and beverage, health and beauty, personal care, consumer electronics, hardlines, and other categories. RMS holds a Target Preferred Partner designation and operates field coverage in all 50 states.
Adam Radabaugh
Channel Partners
+1 7402362270
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