Worksmith, the leading facilities maintenance and experience platform for multi-location retail, today announced its acquisition of Progress Retail, a premier retail operations and workforce learning platform founded in 2017. This strategic acquisition creates a vertically integrated solution that bridges facilities management with workforce enablement, providing retail brands with a unified retail operations platform. By combining Worksmith's robust service execution and maintenance capabilities with Progress Retail's people-centric store operations and learning tools, the partnership aims to drive performance, efficiency, and customer experience across global retail organizations.
AUSTIN, Texas, June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Worksmith, the leading facilities maintenance and experience platform for multi-location retail, today announced the acquisition of Progress Retail, a premier retail operations and learning platform founded in 2017, led by CEO Ray Riley and CTO Vlad Filippov. This strategic combination provides retailers with a comprehensive, vertical solution for retail operations at the intersection of facilities and workforce management.
"The acquisition of Progress Retail represents the next step in our vision at Worksmith to become the one-stop shop for retail operations. Up until now, retail operations leaders have had to rely on a multitude of different systems to run their complex, geographically-dispersed, operations. With the acquisition of Progress Retail by Worksmith, this job becomes a little easier," said Bryan Burkhart, CEO of Worksmith.
With this acquisition, Worksmith and Progress Retail will address the growing demand from retailers for a unified operations platform that reduces complexity, eliminates fragmented point solutions and their associated costs, and drives operational excellence at scale. According to Deloitte's 2025 Retail Outlook, 69% of retail CIOs plan to increase investment in frontline store technology to support unified retail commerce, reduce attrition, and boost workforce resilience.
The combined offering will integrate Progress Retail's workforce training, task management, employee communications, and store experience capabilities with Worksmith's robust facilities maintenance and service management platform, which is leveraged by global retail chains such as Nespresso, Ferragamo, & Tiffany.
"Coming off a strong 2024, we're eager to deliver a unified, tailored solution for cross-functional retail leadership across facilities and maintenance, visual merchandising, retail operations, HR, L&D, and more. We are excited to continue our mission of simplifying retail operations with Bryan and the Worksmith team," said Ray Riley, CEO of Progress Retail.
Progress Retail's platform is trusted by leading brands across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, such as Fleet Feet, Little Words Project, and Faherty. Progress Retail was bootstrapped, having raised no outside capital.
Importantly, all Progress Retail employees will remain with the company, ensuring customer continuity and further accelerating product innovation. Worksmith and Progress Retail share a strong vision for the future of retail operations, which will be realized through organic growth, expanded product capabilities, and potential future strategic acquisitions. Riley will assume the role of Vice President of Retail within Worksmith, while continuing to lead the Progress Retail business unit.
"We are excited to welcome the Progress Retail team to Worksmith; to increase investment in the Progress Retail software platform; to offer the Progress Retail software to existing Worksmith customers; to offer the Worksmith platform to Progress Retail customers; and to market the combined solution to new, prospective customers. Together, we provide a comprehensive offering for retail operations leaders," said Bryan Burkhart.
Worksmith and Progress Retail are set to redefine how retailers manage multi-location operations, offering an all-in-one, vertical solution that enables brands to optimize their stores as profit centers, automate back-end retail processes, and more.
About Worksmith: Worksmith, an Inc. 5000 company for 2022, 2023, and 2024, is a leading facilities maintenance and experience platform that helps multi-location brands streamline store operations. By simplifying vendor management and service execution, Worksmith enables retailers to deliver seamless in-store experiences that drive customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
About Progress Retail: Progress Retail is a comprehensive retail operations and learning platform focused on improving retail employee productivity, communication, and customer engagement. Founded by former retail operators with a mission to simplify retail operations, Progress Retail offers solutions designed to enhance the day-to-day workflows and training of retail teams with over one million learning hours and one million smart retail tasks delivered on the platform. Progress Retail was awarded Momentum Leader, Easiest To Do Business With (Mid-Market), High Performer (Mid-Market), Best Support (Mid-Market), and Best Relationship (Mid-Market) from G2 for Spring 2025. \
Media Contact
Bryan Burkart, Worksmith, Inc., 1 8337472429, [email protected], https://worksmith.com
SOURCE Worksmith, Inc.
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