IVS Group Limited, a family-owned, leading global retail and merchandise solution provider, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The company has shared some of the key developments from its history and revealed its plans for the future as it marks this significant milestone.
IVS Group’s success in providing industry-leading retail management solutions to the leading brands in music, sports, and entertainment has led to expansion into the LBE sector. The company has established itself as a reliable merchandise supplier for brand owners and LBE operators such as Nickelodeon, Dreamworks, Merlin Entertainments, Cartoon Network, 20th Century Fox, and American Dream.
With established offices in UK (head office) and Germany, IVS is supported with satellite offices in USA, China, Australia, Japan and more recently adding a base of operations in UAE, allowing global scale operations.
Rooted in live entertainment
IVS Group was founded in 1998 by Ash Kapoor as a 360-degree merchandise solution for merchandise sales at Rock, Pop and sporting events. Since then, the company has provided services to more than 50 million clients, expanded into more than 60 international regions, and is now the global supplier of retail lines for over 30 individual theme parks and location-based experiences.
The company remains committed to the live entertainment industry. It is known as a leading provider of event retail management services for some of the world’s most prestigious touring acts and has recently supported European tours for Beyoncé, Rolling Stones, Elton John, Harry Styles, The Weeknd and the Harlem Globetrotters.
It was also instrumental in introducing family edutainment touring performances to the UK and has managed major tours across the world such as BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs, Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon, and 20th Century Fox’s Ice Age.
IVS Group entered the LBE sector through its ability to translate brands into merchandise. The company has developed a reputation for creating engaging consumer experiences by offering high-quality, competitively priced product lines with low minimum order quantities (MOQs).
As a result, IVS Group works with LBE partners across the world and supports product design, brand approvals, manufacturing, shipping and distribution, all according to client requirements. Its LBE portfolio includes projects at Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Nickelodeon Universe, Chessington World of Adventures, American Dream, Mall of America, Shrek’s Adventure London and IMG Worlds of Adventure.
Accelerating growth
2023 has been a significant year for IVS Group in the exhibitions and pop-up store sector.
IVS currently manages the official Disney 100: The Exhibition store in collaboration with MFL and on behalf of Semmel Exhibitions, which accompanies the Walt Disney Archives’ largest display to date. IVS Group provided a broad variety of services, including staffing, sales management, stock control, accounting, and day-to-day operations, from locations in Munich and London’s ExCeL, in addition to creating and manufacturing several exclusive Disney 100 products.
In addition, it has also worked on significant pop-up stores which include Formula 1: The Exhibition (Madrid), Stranger Things (Paris), Pokémon World Championships (London) and Harry Styles (London).
IVS Group’s global reach has grown in tandem with the success of its clients and customers. The company has established a new office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to maximise the opportunities of this rapidly expanding business centre.
Looking forwards, the company is exploring new collaborations and is particularly focusing on expanding its portfolio in the theme park and LBE sectors.
Namita Kapoor, CEO, says: “It is particularly gratifying to be celebrating this anniversary as the future for the live events and LBE industries are looking so bright. Looking ahead, we are focused on accelerating the execution of our growth strategy while continuing to build on the strength of our existing partnerships.
“Our reputation for corporate integrity attracts great team members, great clients, and even greater opportunities which are all key to our long-term success. We are incredibly excited about this journey and truly believe the best of IVS is yet to come.”
