What Merchandise Concepts does

Merchandise Concepts is a privately-held, founder-operated professional services firm headquartered at 3421 Toomer Kiln Circle, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. The company delivers customer service training, motivational keynote speaking, and consulting services to retail businesses, green industry firms (garden centers and nurseries), professional associations, and government/education clients. Anne M. Obarski, the sole principal, has 30+ years of global retail experience, holds Certified Professional Behavior Analyst credentials in the DiSC behavioral sciences, and has been a member of the National Speakers Association and Global Speakers Federation since 1996.

The product portfolio consists of seven named keynotes and workshops (e.g., If The Shoe Fits, On The Floor, The A.C.E. Model, Be An Undercover Boss, The Next Gen's, What's Your Pink Pig, What Women Want), supplemented by two consulting service lines (Contagious Consulting for mystery shopping, focus groups, and DiSC analysis; Contagious Merchandising for store design and inventory solutions), a one-day service training program, and a proprietary Retail Snoops mystery shopping research program that has covered 2,000+ stores and businesses over 15 years. Underlying intellectual property includes the 8-step A.C.E. (Astonishing Customer Experience) Model and the Contagious Experience Framework, along with a catalog of authored books.

The business model is fee-for-service professional services with no public pricing, supplemented by book sales. Go-to-market is event-driven and sales-led: Anne is booked directly via website contact form and email, with visibility generated through her blog, social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+), a dedicated Event Planners portal, and a speaker profile on retail-leaders.com. Revenue mechanics are quote-based custom arrangements per engagement rather than recurring contracts, and the firm operates as a micro-entity with 1-10 employees and no institutional capital or parent organization.

Name

Merchandise Concepts

Legal name

Merchandise Concepts

Website

https://merchandiseconcepts.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Merchandise Concepts is a founder-operated professional services firm that delivers customer service keynotes, workshops, and consulting to retail businesses, green industry firms, and professional associations, led by Anne M. Obarski from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mt Pleasant

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Keynote Presentations: Motivational keynote speeches delivered at corporate events, conferences, and professional associations. Revenue generated through speaking fees per event.
2. Workshops: Interactive workshop sessions on customer service, sales performance, and retail excellence. Billed as individual workshop engagements.
3. Consulting Services: On-site consulting including store design evaluation, small store design consultation, inventory management solutions, mystery shopping services, and focus group facilitation.
4. Service Training: One-day service training programs focused on delivering remarkable customer service experiences at every touchpoint.
5. Book Sales: Sale of authored and co-authored books on customer service and sales topics including 'Conversations on Sales and Customer Service', 'Surprising Secrets of Mystery Shoppers', 'Make Your Business CONTAGIOUS', and sector-specific titles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Merchandise Concepts is a customer service training and consulting practice that delivers keynote presentations, interactive workshops, one-day service training, and on-site retail consulting for service-driven businesses. The firm focuses on helping retail, green industry, and professional association clients improve customer experience, sales performance, and store operations through proprietary methodologies including the A.C.E. Model and the Retail Snoops mystery shopping research program.

Product overview

Merchandise Concepts is a service-based company offering a comprehensive portfolio of customer service and retail training solutions. The core offering consists of keynote presentations and interactive workshops (If The Shoe Fits, On The Floor, The A.C.E. Model, Be An Undercover Boss, The Next Gen's, What's Your Pink Pig, What Women Want) that address customer experience, employee performance, and retail merchandising. These are complemented by consulting services including mystery shopping, focus groups, and DiSC behavioral analysis through the Contagious Consulting and Contagious Merchandising programs. The company also offers one-day service training and a proprietary Retail Snoops research program drawing from over 2,000 mystery shops. Anne Obarski has authored multiple books including the 'Make Your Business CONTAGIOUS' and 'Make Your Customer Service CONTAGIOUS' series tailored for different retail sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• If The Shoe Fits Keynote presentation addressing the $1.5 trillion 'switching economy' where consumers can leave with one mistake, with focus on company touchpoint scores and customer service delivery across all touchpoints. Targeted at businesses seeking to retain customers through improved service.
• On The Floor Workshop exploring how color, lighting, inventory control, merchandising, smells, sounds and trained staff create the retail stage, including display techniques for add-on sales. Targeted at retail operators and merchandising teams.
• The A.C.E. Model Eight-step workshop for delivering an Astonishing Customer Experience, focusing on critical areas that make customers gasp and capitalize on the 62% of shoppers who want to physically examine products. Targeted at customer-facing teams and leaders.
• Be An Undercover Boss Leadership keynote challenging executives to become frontline employees to discover improvements that create happier employees and improved culture. Targeted at executive audiences and senior leadership teams.
• The Next Gen's Workshop covering how to attract, manage, and sell to Millennials and Generation Y, addressing their unique characteristics and digital revolution context. Targeted at businesses seeking to engage younger consumers.
• What's Your Pink Pig Workshop on creating and marketing a 'Contagious Experience' that drives customers to business and encourages return visits and word-of-mouth. Targeted at business owners and marketing leaders.
• What Women Want from Your Business Workshop addressing that 80% of buying decisions are made by women, teaching businesses to attract, satisfy and multiply women customers. Targeted at retail and service-oriented businesses.
• Contagious Consulting Consulting services including mystery shopping, focus group development and feedback delivery, and Certified Professional Behavior Analyst services in DiSC sciences. Targeted at organizations seeking objective customer experience evaluation and behavioral insights.
• Contagious Merchandising Consulting services including small store design evaluation and consultation, on-site consulting, and inventory management solutions. Targeted at small retail operators.
• One-Day Service Training One-day service training covering customer service impact on efficiency, effectiveness, and trust between employees, brand, and professional presentation. Targeted at customer service teams across industries.
• Retail Snoops Program Mystery shopping research program that has covered more than 2,000 stores and businesses over 15 years across fast-food restaurants to Fortune 500 companies. Targeted at organizations seeking empirical customer experience benchmarking.
• Conversations on Sales and Customer Service Book co-authored by Anne Obarski on sales and customer service topics. Available for purchase directly through the firm.
• Surprising Secrets of Mystery Shoppers Book co-authored by Anne Obarski revealing insights from mystery shopping research. Available for purchase directly through the firm.
• Make Your Business CONTAGIOUS Book authored by Anne Obarski on creating contagious business experiences. Available for purchase directly through the firm.
• Make Your Customer Service CONTAGIOUS - for garden centers Book authored by Anne Obarski on creating contagious customer service specifically for garden center businesses. Available for purchase directly through the firm.
• Make Your Customer Service CONTAGIOUS - for retail stores Book authored by Anne Obarski on creating contagious customer service specifically for retail store environments. Available for purchase directly through the firm.

Quantifiable outcome

• Highest customer satisfaction scores in organization's history
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• That Small Business GuyminorOthersWebsite design and development partner responsible for site design services for Merchandise Concepts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Global analytics and advisory firm known for customer engagement and employee engagement research. Overlaps with Merchandise Concepts' CX/employee performance themes at a much larger scale, providing research-backed keynote content and consulting.
• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Management training and leadership development firm (The One Minute Manager). Competes for corporate L&D and keynote spend with a structured curriculum and global delivery model rather than a single-speaker boutique approach.
• FranklinCovey: Large, established leadership and sales effectiveness training company (The 7 Habits, Helping Clients Succeed). Competes for the same corporate training and keynote budgets but at far greater scale, with a multi-product portfolio rather than a niche CX focus.
• Dale Carnegie & Associates: Global training and professional development firm offering courses in leadership, sales, and presentation skills. Adjacent to Merchandise Concepts' training and keynote offerings but with a much broader portfolio and international footprint.

Direct peers

• The DiJulius Group: Customer experience consulting and keynote platform founded by John DiJulius (author of The Customer Experience Revolution). Closely mirrors Merchandise Concepts' blend of keynote delivery, CX training programs, and retail-focused consulting.
• IntelliShop: Mystery shopping and customer experience measurement firm. Directly comparable to the 'Retail Snoops' program component of Merchandise Concepts' offering, serving retailers with customer experience research.
• Shep Hyken: Premier customer service keynote speaker and author of multiple CX books (The Cult of the Customer, Amaze Every Customer). Directly comparable business model: solo founder-led speaking, training, and consulting focused on customer experience for retail and B2B audiences.
• Secret Shopper: Long-established mystery shopping company providing customer experience measurement to retail and service brands. Overlaps with Merchandise Concepts' mystery shopping research arm and CX consulting practice.
• Ron Kaufman: Service excellence keynote speaker and author (Uplifting Service). Comparable model: solo founder selling keynote engagements, workshops, and service culture transformation programs to enterprise clients.
• Beyond Philosophy: Customer experience consulting firm founded by Colin Shaw, offering keynote speaking, training, and proprietary CX research. Comparable mix of methodology-driven content, advisory services, and thought leadership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/anneobarski
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/anneobarski
• Facebookfacebook.com/anne.obarski
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/merchandise-concepts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Merchandise Concepts