IRI (company)

IRI
Company typePrivate
IndustryMarket research
Founded1979
FounderJohn Malec and Gerry Eskin
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, United States
Key people
Kirk Perry, president and chief executive officer[1]
OwnersVestar Capital Partners, New Mountain Capital
Number of employees
5,000[2]
Websitewww.iriworldwide.com

IRI (Information Resources, Inc.) was a data analytics and market research company headquartered in the United States. The company provided clients with consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence as well as analysis on consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, and healthcare industries. It merged with The NPD Group in 2022 to become Circana.[3]

History

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Information Resources, Incorporated (IRI) was formed in Chicago in 1979[4] by market researcher John Malec and Gerald Eskin, a University of Iowa marketing professor.[5] The two purchased scanners for supermarkets to gather point-of-sale data based on bar codes in grocery stores that could be sold to CPG companies to track what customers purchase.[6]

In 1983, IRI became a public company.[7]

By 1993, Fortune Magazine named IRI a "company to watch" for expanding into two of its sizeable markets: analyzing nationwide scanner data on consumer products and producing computer software. At that time, slightly more than half of IRI's revenues came from Info scan, its marketing data service.[8]

In late 2003, IRI was acquired by joint-venture cooperation between enterprise software provider Symphony Technology Group and investment capital firm Tennenbaum Capital Partners.[9]

In March 2011, New York-based private equity firm New Mountain Capital bought Symphony IRI[10] and the company announced that it was changing its name back to Information Resources Inc., or IRI.[11]

In April 2013, Symphony IRI Group, Inc. announced that it was rebranding as IRI.[11]

In January 2019, New Mountain Capital and Vestar Capital Partners (“Vestar”) announced that Vestar would lead a new investment in IRI.[12]

The company merged with The NPD Group in 2022. The company name changed to Circana in 2023.[3]

Management

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In February 2004, IRI named former Electronic Data Systems Corp executive Scott Klein as its president and CEO, succeeding Joe Durret.[13] Klein served as CEO until October 2007, when he moved to IRI's parent company, Symphony Technology Group, and was succeeded by former Salesforce.com executive John Freeland.[14]

In June 2012, Symphony IRI Group, Inc. appointed former Aon COO and McKinsey & Company senior partner Andrew Appel as president and CEO to succeed John G. Freeland, who moved to an interim role as executive vice chairman.[5][15]

In May 2021, IRI named former Google executive and CPG advertising leader Kirk Perry as president and CEO, succeeding Andrew Appel, who remained in the company as an advisor and member of its board of directors.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Jack Neff (March 30, 2021). "IRI HIRES GOOGLE HEAVY HITTER TO BE CEO, JUST AS MARKETERS GRAPPLE WITH GOOGLE'S NEW COOKIELESS WORLD". AdAge.
  2. ^ "Company Overview of Information Resources, Inc". Bloomberg L.P. August 4, 2018.
  3. ^ a b https://www.npd.com/news/press-releases/2023/iri-and-npd-rebrand-as-circana-the-leading-advisor-on-the-complexity-of-consumer-behavior/ [bare URL]
  4. ^ Richard Kreisman (March 1, 1985). "Buy The Numbers". Inc.
  5. ^ a b Brigid Sweeney (February 20, 2016). "IRI's new purpose in consumer research". Crain's Chicago Business.
  6. ^ Adam Kivel (September 21, 2017). "IRI and the Hub of the Data Ecosystem". Sync Magazine.
  7. ^ "Honomichl Top 50 Report" (PDF). American Marketing Association. January 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ JOHN LABATE (December 27, 1993). "COMPANIES TO WATCH". CNNMoney.
  9. ^ Jack Neff (June 30, 2003). "IRI TO BE SOLD FOR $108.4 MILLION". Adage.
  10. ^ "IRI: Crafting A Crystal Ball With Consumer Spending Data" (PDF). New Mountain Capital. October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  11. ^ a b "SymphonyIRI Rebrands to IRI". Supermarket News. April 16, 2013.
  12. ^ "Vestar Capital Partners to take major stake in IRI". Chain Drug Review. January 2019.
  13. ^ Jack Neff (February 3, 2004). "IRI NAMES NEW PRESIDENT-CEO". Adage.
  14. ^ Jack Neff (October 2, 2007). "FREELAND TAKES CEO POST AT IRI". Adage.
  15. ^ "SymphonyIRI Names Appel President, CEO". Supermarket News. June 6, 2012.
  16. ^ "Why Google and Procter & Gamble veteran will lead IRI". Ad Age. 2021-05-20.
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