What Southern Professionals does

Southern Professionals, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned retail brokerage firm founded in 1979 and headquartered in Atlanta (Woodstock), Georgia, with a second office in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company operates as an intermediary between CPG manufacturers and seven major U.S. mass and value retailers — Walmart, Sam's Club, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply, and The Home Depot — providing end-to-end representation from item setup and content compliance through line reviews, pricing architecture, promotional execution, replenishment analytics, and ongoing buyer relationship management.

The firm's service portfolio is structured as retailer-specific brokerage engagements (Walmart, Sam's Club, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply, and The Home Depot) layered with five cross-retailer service modules: Private Brand Management & Product Launches (using 1WorldSync, Retail Link, and Aspect), Advanced Analytics (forecasting recommendations, price elasticity analysis, weekly KPI reporting), Content Management for retailer dot-com teams, Retail Analysis using demographic data, and Administrative Assistance including ClearTrack compliance. The underlying technology is built on retailer-provided platforms and standard content/data syndication tools rather than proprietary infrastructure.

The business model is commission-based brokerage: Southern Professionals earns transaction fees from manufacturers and brands it represents to retail buyers, with pricing not publicly disclosed and negotiated directly per engagement. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, anchored on established buyer relationships and strategic positioning within the value and dollar retail channel. The company is led by CEO Bert Blackburn (who succeeded founder Al Blackburn in 2009), operates 11-50 employees, and claims to have generated over $100 billion in cumulative retail sales for the brands it represents since 1979.

Name

Southern Professionals

Legal name

Southern Professionals, Inc.

Website

https://southernprofessionals.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southern Professionals is a privately held retail brokerage firm, founded 1979, that represents CPG manufacturers to seven major U.S. retailers (Walmart, Sam's Club, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply, Home Depot), providing item setup, line reviews, analytics, and ongoing buyer relationship management on a commission basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bentonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Brokerage Commissions: Southern Professionals operates as a full-service retail brokerage firm, earning commissions from manufacturers and brands they represent to retailers. They act as an intermediary helping brands navigate the purchasing, promotional, and customer service process with major retailers. Revenue is generated through their representation of supplier products at retailers including Walmart, Sam's Club, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply, and The Home Depot.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Southern Professionals is a full-service retail brokerage firm that represents CPG manufacturers and brands to seven major U.S. retailers (Walmart, Sam's Club, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply, and The Home Depot). The company provides end-to-end brokerage including item setup and compliance, buyer access and relationship management, line review preparation, promotional planning, replenishment analytics, and administrative support across the purchasing, promotional, and customer service process.

Product overview

Southern Professionals is a full-service retail brokerage firm offering a unified platform of brokerage services across seven major U.S. retailers: Walmart, Sam's Club, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply, and The Home Depot. The company's core offering consists of retailer-specific brokerage services that help CPG brands navigate the purchasing, promotional, and customer service process from item setup through strategic growth. These services are supported by five key service modules: Private Brand Management & Product Launches (using 1WorldSync, Retail Link, and Aspect systems), Advanced Analytics (forecasting and price elasticity), Content Management for ecommerce, Retail Analysis using demographic data, and Administrative Assistance including ClearTrack compliance. The company operates from offices in Bentonville, Arkansas and Atlanta (Woodstock), Georgia, and has been serving the value channel since 1979.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $100 billion in retail sales generated for brands they represent since 1979
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• WalmartcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern Professionals serves as a retail broker representing manufacturers and brands to Walmart. Services include item setup, retail link analytics, sales representation, content compliance, private label support, and problem resolution. The company has over 20 years of Walmart/Sam's Club experience and maintains direct buyer relationships.
• Sam's ClubcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern Professionals helps suppliers navigate Sam's Club through product positioning, club-ready packaging, cost modeling, ecommerce optimization, retail execution, and performance monitoring. Focus on club model specifics including pack architecture and member value.
• Dollar GeneralcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern Professionals provides Dollar General brokerage including buyer strategy, line review preparation, item setup and compliance, value-driven pricing architecture, private label guidance, retail execution support, and sales tracking for over 20,000+ Dollar General stores.
• Family DollarcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern Professionals provides expert brokerage services for Family Dollar including item submission, buyer engagement, planogram strategy, pricing strategy, promotional planning, vendor onboarding, and business reviews. Utilizes 1010data analytics for customer insights.
• Dollar TreecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern Professionals helps suppliers break into Dollar Tree with services tailored to the fixed-price model. Includes item fit analysis, value engineering for $1.25 price point, buyer strategy, vendor onboarding, packaging consultation, and program expansion. Supports Dollar Tree's multi-price point strategy.
• Tractor Supply Co.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern Professionals provides specialized brokerage for Tractor Supply focusing on farm, ranch, pet, and rural lifestyle products. Services include item submission, assortment optimization, pricing for rural value, event promotions, vendor setup, and sales tracking.
• The Home DepotcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern Professionals delivers expert brokerage services for The Home Depot covering hardware, tools, and home improvement categories. Services include vendor setup, product pitching, planogram support, pricing strategy, promotional planning, vendor compliance, and performance analytics.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Crossmark: Crossmark provides retail services including sales, merchandising, and analytics to CPG manufacturers across U.S. retailers. It is a direct competitor in the same broker space with similar manufacturer clients and overlapping retailer relationships.
• Premium Retail Services: Premium Retail Services is a retail services provider covering sales, resets, merchandising, and retail execution for CPG brands at mass, grocery, and value retailers. Comparable to Southern Professionals in acting as an outsourced sales/representation partner for manufacturers.
• SAS Retail Services: SAS Retail Services delivers retail merchandising, resets, and in-store execution services for consumer brands across U.S. retail chains. It overlaps with Southern Professionals in providing manufacturer-side field services and buyer engagement support.
• SPAR Group: SPAR Group is a retail merchandising and services company providing resets, remodels, and in-store execution for manufacturers and retailers. It is comparable to SP as a third-party retail services provider serving CPG brands across multiple retail banners.
• The Revenue Optimization Companies (T-ROC): T-ROC provides retail sales, merchandising, and technology-enabled services to consumer brands at major U.S. retailers. As a tech-enabled retail services firm, it competes with SP for manufacturer mandates while operating at a similar to slightly larger scale.
• Driveline Retail Merchandising: Driveline Retail Merchandising provides retail merchandising, resets, and category management services to manufacturers and retailers nationwide. It competes in the same outsourced retail services market as Southern Professionals, with overlapping retailer coverage.
• Advantage Solutions: Advantage Solutions is the largest U.S. retail broker and sales agency, representing manufacturers to grocery, mass, club, and value retailers. It is a direct competitor to Southern Professionals across overlapping retailers and CPG clients, though at significantly greater scale and with a broader service portfolio.
• Acosta: Acosta is a major North American retail sales and marketing agency serving CPG brands across grocery, mass, club, and dollar channels. It competes directly with Southern Professionals for manufacturer mandates covering the same value and dollar retailers SP serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southernprof
• Facebookfacebook.com/Southernprofessionalsteam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-professionals-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Professionals