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PressRelease
December 19, 2023
Commercial Design Systems (CDS) & SKY Retail Solutions Will Join Forces to Create Leading Retail Design/Build/Installation Services Firm
Merging complementary cultures and their East-to-West Coast presence creates a truly comprehensive in-house service offering with expanded creative, fabrication, and distribution strength.
Commercial Design Systems (“CDS”) and SKY Retail Solutions (“SKY”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive joint venture agreement which will culminate in a merger in early 2024. This merger aims to launch the yet-to-be-named firm, known internally today as SKY CDS, into the ranks of the top tier players in retail interior design, construction, fabrication, and installation.
The companies plan to combine their staffs of experienced retail design experts, custom craftsmen, and installation professionals, as well as their existing production facilities in both the greater Portland, OR and Cincinnati, OH areas, to offer clients from industries including grocery, convenience, and fast casual restaurants access to a truly in-house suite of store design services from concept through completion and ongoing program maintenance.
“This is going to be an unbelievable value-add for our clients,” said Rick Graap, Owner and CEO at CDS. “We’re a creative company, first and foremost, and our goal at CDS has always been leveraging that creativity and flexible thinking that’s engrained in our DNA to help our retail clients sell more and get the most out of their retail spaces. We now have the ability to scale up at every level on our clients’ behalf in a way that will save them time and save them money while maintaining the creative integrity and high-quality production standards we’re renowned for in the industry.
Steven Worsham, Managing Partner at SKY, couldn’t agree more. “Our core value at SKY has always been our clients’ success, that’s the measuring stick for everything we do,” he said. “As we’ve grown organically over the years and our portfolio has expanded across the US, we realized we could bring our clients unparalleled value by expanding our creative and production offering from coast-to-coast. CDS shares our vision, our values, and our steadfast commitment to client success, we strengthen each other’s service capabilities, and expand each other’s reach. This merger of two great companies is going to be a win/win for SKY, for CDS, and most importantly for our clients.”
In addition to Worsham and Graap, the combined organization will be led by an experienced senior leadership team made up of individuals from both SKY and CDS.
SKY and CDS work with many leading retail brands, with a US presence across all 50 states and worldwide providing in-house retail services including retail strategy, branding development, design and fixture planning, merchandising, program & project management, site surveys, construction, graphics and décor manufacturing, and installation. Projects are built to purpose, built to timeline, and built to budget for each client.
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