Accenture has entered into an agreement to acquire Kurt Salmon, a leading global strategy consulting firm focused on the retail industry and a subsidiary of Management Consulting Group. The acquisition will expand Accenture Strategy's capabilities in delivering end-to-end strategy consulting services to top retailers and private equity firms in a world disrupted by digital. Completion is subject to regulatory approvals, approval of the transaction by Management Consulting Group's shareholders and other customary closing conditions. Founded in 1935, Kurt Salmon has more than 260 employees serving clients across the world, and offices in the US, Germany, UK, Japan and China. The company is known for operational strategy consulting, including logistics and supply chain, merchandising and product development, corporate strategy and due diligence, and omni-channel retail strategy. "With digital disruption forcing retailers to rethink their entire business and operating models, we expect continued strong demand for strategy consulting services in this industry," said Mark Knickrehm, chief executive officer, Accenture Strategy. "This acquisition will enhance our ability to deliver the industry-specific strategies that our clients are increasingly seeking, in order to drive competitiveness and operational excellence at the intersection of business and technology." Chris Donnelly, retail industry lead, Accenture Strategy, said "in an environment dominated by rapidly rising customer expectations, industry convergence and low barriers to entry, our retail clients are looking for end-to-end strategy solutions to navigate this disruption. Through this acquisition, we will be able to offer our clients a powerful combination of services to help shape the transformation of the retail sector." Following completion of the acquisition, Kurt Salmon's employees are expected to join the Accenture Strategy retail industry practice. "Our retail clients are increasingly looking for agile and pragmatic solutions from industry experts that enable their transformation journey and help them gain competitive advantage," said Brooks Kitchel, CEO of Kurt Salmon. "Joining Accenture Strategy will enable us to bring new value to our clients in a collaborative, global and client-centric environment that aligns with our company culture and mission." — SG
