Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
Our Company
As a leading business solutions provider to consumer-packaged goods companies and retailers, we offer a platform of high-quality, interconnected, essential, business-critical omni-channel services such as brokerage (headquarter sales), retail merchandising, in-store sampling and private brand development. We assist brands and retailers of all sizes in getting the right products on the shelf - both physical or digital - and into the hands of consumers however they choose to shop. We innovate as a trusted partner with our clients, solving problems to increase efficiency, effectiveness and sales across various channels.
We are proud to serve more than 4,000 clients across diverse categories, such as grocery, mass merchandisers, club, drug and convenience retailers, maintaining trusted relationships and reach spanning more than 100,000 coast-to-coast locations. Our services reflect our differentiated business systems, talent, relationships, scale and expertise. We listen, learn and invest in capabilities that help us meet the evolving needs of brands and retailers. This approach enables us to address existing challenges more effectively and tackle new issues promptly while navigating an increasingly omni-channel world.
Our experience and the transformation underway are designed to improve our core capabilities through technology and strategic partnerships over time. We are committed to staying at the forefront of industry trends to harness data and analytic solutions that support our teammates in creating, executing, and measuring insight-based plans to foster our clients’ business growth.
At the most fundamental level:
• We operate at the nexus of consumer-packaged goods companies and retailers and are trusted partners for both.
• We help our clients sell more while spending less, making their operations more effective and efficient.
• We succeed by delivering market-leading services daily and offering innovative client solutions through a nimble operating platform.
• We drive our productivity to fuel reinvestment and growth in Advantage Solutions.
• Simply put, we seek to operate better, cost-effectively, and faster, keeping commerce and life moving for clients and consumers.
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Our Solutions
Our interconnected solutions for consumer-packaged goods brands and retailers are provided across three segments — Branded Services, Experiential Services and Retailer Services.
Branded Services
We serve as the strategic extension of consumer-packaged goods brands by offering services that include selling to retailers, retail merchandising and omni-channel marketing. We typically generate revenues on a commission, fee-for-service or cost-plus basis.
Our primary branded services include:
Brokerage Services (Headquarter Sales)
Our brokerage service offerings focus on providing solutions for branded consumer goods manufacturers and retailers. We represent our clients and facilitate relationships with retailers across a range of matters, including business development and sales planning that drives awareness and gets brands onto physical and digital shelves for consumers.
We create customized, data-driven business plans for clients and present business cases that aim to increase product distribution and optimize shelf placement, pricing and promotion of their products within our extensive network of industry contacts spanning retailer buying organizations and senior executive ranks. Our services are enhanced by our comprehensive understanding of both the manufacturers’ and retailers’ strategic priorities and proactive approach to identifying business-building opportunities. Our scale allows us to offer these services locally, regionally or nationally for a client’s designated product, brand, or entire portfolio.
To support our sales efforts, we have a dedicated team of analytics professionals who provide category and space management services. These experts analyze consumer purchase and retailer data to identify retail opportunities that increase sales of our client's products and categories.
We utilize analytical tools that aggregate data to inform sales strategies to expand product distribution and optimize other factors such as assortment, planograms, pricing and trade promotions. Additionally, we employ post-promotion analytical tools, working closely with clients and retailers to make the necessary adjustments that align with sales and profit objectives at the product and category level.
Furthermore, we offer advanced analytical services for clients, including retailer point-of-sale and primary market and shopper research.
Branded Merchandising
We deploy teams in retail locations that draw on our comprehensive insights to support consumer packaged goods companies' in-store sales strategies. Our teammates conduct regular and ad hoc store visits to manage product availability and positioning, implement promotions, install point-of-purchase displays, and perform other value-added merchandising services down to the aisle, shelf, and SKU.
We offer our clients a wide array of flexible service models for our retail services coverage. In our dedicated coverage model, our teammates perform services exclusively for a particular client and have intimate knowledge of its categories and products. Our syndicated coverage model utilizes shared teams in particular channels to perform services for multiple clients while in a store. We also offer hybrid coverage models whereby clients can choose to have dedicated teams covering designated channels or retailers and syndicated coverage for other channels.
Our branded merchandising services leverage internally sourced or third-party technologies for daily point-of-sale store data, supply chain data and advanced algorithms to target and correct potential store-level merchandising issues in real-time, such as stock-keeping units that are void, out of stock or past expiration. We use this information to improve the routing of our retail teams to address client’s needs and mitigate risk. We also prioritize our teammates’ work to address the highest-value opportunities while conducting a store visit.
We also offer supply chain and logistics services that deliver a more efficient and seamless flow of products from the warehouse to the consumer. We navigate retail distribution complexities and enhance consumer experiences with timely delivery and customer satisfaction. We help clients reach their target audiences by leveraging technology to optimize logistics, procurement and supply chain management.
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We regularly seek opportunities to enhance our suite of technologies through internal development and strategic partnerships. For example, we recently implemented routing software that can efficiently and effectively guide our teammates from location to location, considering store volume, sales velocity, location and in-store conditions.
Additionally, our teammates utilize merchandising applications and scanners in-store to efficiently and effectively execute various activities such as distribution tasks, validating promotional compliance or answering survey questions.
Omni-commerce Marketing Services
We create distinct, shopper-centric brand experiences that seek to stand out physically and digitally across multiple consumer touchpoints, including digital shelf, Amazon, in-store, promotions, social/influencer, media, custom content and beyond. We immerse ourselves in each brand, leveraging consumer insights and retail intelligence to craft memorable campaigns that help brands break through and grow. Consumer packaged goods companies also hire us for national consumer promotions designed to broadly stimulate demand and awareness of their products.
Experiential Services
We help brands break through, build loyalty, and drive sales with omni-channel sampling experiences in-store and online. We are a global leader in sampling and demonstration services, which we believe enhance the shopper experience and accelerate buy rates across channels and touchpoints, driving trial, sales lift, and brand loyalty. We manage highly customized, large-scale sampling programs for leading brands and retailers. Revenues are primarily recognized as fee-for-service and cost-plus fees for providing in-store, digital sampling, and demonstrations.
We cultivate community, loyalty, and results-driven relationships through world-class brand events. We design, orchestrate, and execute brand and premium events connecting consumers with brands, retailers, and products, leveraging our expertise in consumer insights and experiential marketing.
Retailer Services
We provide retailers end-to-end solutions, including private brand strategy, merchandising, retail media and aisle/shelf optimization.
Retailer Services segment revenues are primarily recognized in commissions, fee-for-service, and cost-plus fees for providing consulting services related to private brand development, the execution of merchandising strategies and marketing strategies within retailer locations, including retail media networks and analyzing shopper behavior.
Our primary retailer services include:
Retailer Merchandising
We serve select retailers as their exclusive providers and other retailers as authorized providers of in-store merchandising or reset services. For some of our retailer clients, we perform other in-store services, such as compliance audits, data collection, in-store product assembly and certain advisory services, such as analytics and planogram services to increase sales and optimize inventory and space management. These services allow the retailer’s personnel to focus on interacting with and servicing its shoppers.
We equip retailers with experienced trade professionals, movers and lifters to build out and bring the physical shopping experience to life.
Advisory Services
We expand our clients’ businesses globally with our leading private brand agency, Daymon. We have the expertise to drive loyalty, differentiation, and sales by combining strong relationships through decades of partnerships with manufacturers and retailers. We help maximize the market potential of private brand portfolios by providing comprehensive strategy, development and management services to retailers and private brand manufacturers.
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By leveraging our analytical capabilities and expertise, we develop strategies and provide insights that help retailers establish and grow productive and profitable private brand programs across new and existing product categories. This process often begins with a thorough marketplace analysis to develop a private brand portfolio strategy that aligns with a client’s priorities. We help identify the most compelling product categories to target and specific products to develop. We also provide packaging and design services to bring our retailer clients’ brands to life through strong brand identities. Our retailer clients are supported by analytical teams and teammates who execute strategies through assortment planning, product sourcing and marketing and ongoing program management.
Agency Services
We manage a wide variety of media, merchandising and display platforms for retailers, including multi-manufacturer print and digital circular programs. We offer targeted media and advertising solutions powered by our proprietary data or through third-party partnerships that deliver to curated, custom audiences. Our cross-screen advertising capabilities enable advertisers to target and engage with custom audience segments across devices via rich media, display, email and value exchange ads.
Government Regulation
In connection with the services we provide, we must comply with various laws and regulations from federal, state, local and foreign regulatory agencies. We believe that we are in material compliance with regulatory requirements applicable to our business. These regulatory requirements include, without limitation:
• federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations involving minimum wage, overtime, exempt or non-exempt status, health care, sick leave, lunch and rest breaks and other similar wage, benefits and hour requirements and other similar laws;
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and regulations of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the equivalent state agencies and other similar laws;
• food safety matters ( e.g. , federal, state and local certification and training and inspection and enforcement of standards for our teammates, facilities, equipment and the products we promote), alcohol beverage regulations, food and permitting matters ( e.g. , licensing under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture), custom and import matters with respect to products imported to and exported across international borders;
• federal and foreign laws and regulations regarding tariffs, taxes, embargoes, retaliations and other governmental responses;
• the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and other similar anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws and regulations that generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business; and
• federal, state and foreign anti-corruption, data protection, privacy, consumer protection, content regulation and other laws and regulations, including without limitation, GDPR and the CCPA.
Human Capital Management
Our people, who we refer to as our teammates, represent one of the most important assets to our business. As of December 31, 2024, we employed approximately 69,000 teammates. Approximately 17,000 are full-time and approximately 52,000 are part-time. Approximately 52,000 of our teammates are in the United States. As of December 31, 2024, none of our teammates in the United States were represented by a trade union or were the subject of a collective bargaining agreement.
We are committed to promoting a performance culture with a high degree of teammate engagement and an environment where everyone feels welcomed and included. Our talent and leadership development programs are intended to foster our teammates’’ ambitions, help develop their careers and support their changing needs and the needs of the business. We believe that our teammates’ contributions and active engagement with their fellow teammates are important to the strength of our operational and financial performance. Furthermore, as our company transforms within an evolving industry, we are focused at all levels on improving turnover, retention, development, and the overall teammate experience.
We historically experience meaningful turnover among our entry-level part-time teammates each year We experience less turnover among our mid-level and senior-level teammates. Given the nature of our services, our recruiting and retention practices are important to meeting the needs and expectations of our clients and customers. As such, we set clear objectives with our teammates, analyze performance and reward and recognize teammates who outperform. At the same time, we remain committed to providing
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opportunities for our teammates to grow and develop their careers with us and encourage internal movement including promotions to leadership roles within our business units for high-performing or motivated teammates. No matter their career goals, we are committed to developing, rewarding and retaining high-performing teammates as we transform our business in response to the ever-changing needs of our clients and industry.
We strive to cultivate respect, trust and transparency, and we embrace a diversity of thought and of people. We are committed to creating a workplace where our teammates are seen, heard, respected, protected, valued, feel a sense of belonging and have an opportunity to pursue their career goals and dreams. We believe diversity, equity and inclusion are important components of our commitment to putting people first and our long-term operational and financial success. We believe that a diverse workforce that is reflective of our diverse customer base will position us to better understand customers’ wants and needs, which we believe drives our ability to deliver superior customer value and successfully innovate. Diverse perspectives amongst our teammates allow them to evaluate issues through different experiences and perspectives and help guide us in a thoughtful way. Our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts include enterprise-wide training, a diversity equity and inclusion board, and eight distinct resource groups, and we encourage a culture of inclusivity.
Intellectual Property
We own or have the rights to use certain trade names and trademarks that are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other foreign trademark registration offices or exist under common law in the United States and other jurisdictions. Trade names that are important in identifying and distinguishing our business include, but are not limited to, Advantage Solutions, Advantage Sales, Daymon, SAS and, Club Demonstration Services. Our rights to some of these trade names and trademarks may be limited to select markets. We also own domain names, including advantagesolutions.net and youradv.com.
We rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, and proprietary systems and information, to maintain and develop our technology-enabled services. We try to protect trade secrets and know-how by taking reasonable steps to keep them confidential, including entering into nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements with our teammates and contractors that contain confidentiality obligations and entering into invention assignment commitments that obligate teammates and contractors to assign to us any inventions developed in the course of their work for us.
Available Information
We maintain a link to investor relations information on our website, https://youradv.com , where we make available, free of charge, SEC filings, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. All SEC filings are also available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov . our website and the information contained on or connected to our website are not incorporated by reference herein, and our web address is included as an inactive textual reference only.