Accel-KKR Backs StoreForce in Acquisition of ThinkTime
August 1, 2023
Acquisition of Retail Execution Technology Innovator is Part of Goal to Help Retailers Drive Store Productivity and Employee Engagement
Toronto, ON & Chicago, IL – August 1st, 2023 – StoreForce, a provider of innovative software for managing specialty retail stores, today announced the acquisition of ThinkTime, a retail execution solution for retailers. This acquisition comes less than six months after StoreForce received a majority investment from Accel-KKR, a tech-focused global private equity firm with $19 billion in cumulative capital commitments. This acquisition enables StoreForce and ThinkTime to offer an increasingly comprehensive suite of technology solutions that boost productivity, execution and engagement at every level of global retail organizations, driving value back to the bottom line.
Built by a management team with extensive retail background, ThinkTime offers focused solutions in task management, store-level ticketing, internal support and communications with native mobile and multi-lingual capabilities that enable in-store operational excellence and cater to the retail workforce of the future. StoreForce helps specialty retailers drive store productivity, schedule the workforce, engage employees, and increase sales through its Retail All-in-One Operations software platform.
“In today’s challenging economic times, it has become critical to help specialty retailers raise their store efficiency and profitability to the highest level possible, and we intend to do that in the way we know best: delivering the most complete, intuitive and scalable retail tech platform on the market,” said Dave Loat, CEO and co-founder of StoreForce. “ThinkTime’s robust task management and ticketing solutions, not to mention their knowledgeable, customer-focused people, are a great addition to StoreForce and to our shared vision for growth.”
“StoreForce’s growth focus paired with the financial backing and operating experience of Accel-KKR will enable ThinkTime to accelerate our technology roadmap so we can more quickly introduce innovation that help customers take their retail operations to the next level. This is an exciting time for our company, our people and our customers,” said Joel Livet, CEO and co-founder of ThinkTime.
“Accel-KKR is excited to support the partnership of these two highly complementary businesses, and we’re committed to providing the right resources in helping them succeed. We congratulate StoreForce and ThinkTime on this milestone and we look forward to what’s ahead in their combined go-to-market strategy,” said Phil Cunningham, Managing Director at Accel-KKR.
About ThinkTime
ThinkTime has been creating positive results and building team member engagement for retailers worldwide since 2011. Our digital operations workplace enables our clients to execute business initiatives with confidence and consistency across their fleet of store locations. Through our integrated task management, audit, communications (messages, news, knowledge base) and help ticketing modules, retailers are able to gain real-time visibility into how well projects are being executed while simultaneously providing support and content to help their team succeed.
Our Leadership Team has over 100 years of combined retail background, ensuring that we understand the problems modern retailers face in the marketplace. Our expertise manifests itself from our first contact through ongoing partnerships with retailers across all retail verticals (big box, specialty, grocery, convenience, services and more). For more information, visit: www.thinktime.com
About StoreForce
StoreForce has been helping Specialty Retailers around the world exceed sales performance goals and deliver exceptional customer experiences since 2010. StoreForce is a sales performance platform, underpinned by a Specialty Retail workforce management system. It is called “wfm+”, where the “+” represents a focus on positive sales growth and consistent delivery of the brand in your brick and mortar stores. This approach is entirely unique to StoreForce, and it is why the “+” also represents a foundational shift from the way traditional wfms approach labor planning in Specialty Retail.
At StoreForce, we consider ourselves Retailers first, and technology vendors second. We are extremely passionate about retail and helping our clients thrive. Customer service and engagement is at the forefront of everything we do. We have the luxury of designing a platform-specific to the needs of the Specialty Retail market, working with our clients to continually enhance our solutions, and not compromising on functionality to serve multiple verticals. For more information, visit: www.storeforcesolutions.com
About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with $19 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and tech-enabled businesses, well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions, including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across various transaction types, including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta, London and Mexico City. Visit accel-kkr.com to learn more.