IRI (company)
{{Short description|American data analytics company}}
{{primary sources|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox company
| name = IRI
| logo = IRI Logo that was officially used on IRI website.jpg
| type = Private
| foundation = 1979
| founder = John Malec and Gerry Eskin
| location = Chicago, Illinois, United States
| key_people = Kirk Perry, president and chief executive officer{{cite web| url =https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/iri-hires-google-heavy-hitter-be-ceo-just-marketers-grapple-googles-new-cookieless-world/2325081|title=IRI HIRES GOOGLE HEAVY HITTER TO BE CEO, JUST AS MARKETERS GRAPPLE WITH GOOGLE'S NEW COOKIELESS WORLD|author=Jack Neff|publisher=AdAge|date =March 30, 2021}}
| num_employees = 5,000{{cite web| url =https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=94445|title=Company Overview of Information Resources, Inc.|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date =August 4, 2018}}
| industry = Market research
| owners = Vestar Capital Partners, New Mountain Capital
| homepage = {{url|https://www.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.{{cite web | url=https://www.npd.com/news/press-releases/2023/iri-and-npd-rebrand-as-circana-the-leading-advisor-on-the-complexity-of-consumer-behavior/ | title=Unlock Growth with Our Consumer Insights & Industry Data Tools }}
History
Information Resources, Incorporated (IRI) was formed in Chicago in 1979{{cite web| url =https://www.inc.com/magazine/19850301/6488.html |title=Buy The Numbers|author=Richard Kreisman|publisher=Inc.|date =March 1, 1985}} by market researcher John Malec and Gerald Eskin, a University of Iowa marketing professor.{{cite web| url =http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160220/ISSUE01/302209994/iri-uses-big-data-to-predict-purchases-of-consumer-packaged-goods|title=IRI's new purpose in consumer research|author=Brigid Sweeney|publisher=Crain's Chicago Business|date =February 20, 2016}} 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.{{cite web| url =https://sync-magazine.com/2017/iri-andrewappel/|title=IRI and the Hub of the Data Ecosystem|author=Adam Kivel|publisher=Sync Magazine|date =September 21, 2017}}
In 1983, IRI became a public company.{{cite web|url=https://www.ama.org/Documents/2012-Hono-Top-50.pdf|title=Honomichl Top 50 Report|publisher=American Marketing Association|date=January 2012}}{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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.{{cite web| url =https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1993/12/27/78787/index.htm|title=COMPANIES TO WATCH|author=JOHN LABATE |publisher=CNNMoney|date =December 27, 1993}}
In late 2003, IRI was acquired by joint-venture cooperation between enterprise software provider Symphony Technology Group and investment capital firm Tennenbaum Capital Partners.{{cite web| url =http://adage.com/article/news/iri-sold-108-4-million/37856/|title=IRI TO BE SOLD FOR $108.4 MILLION|author=Jack Neff |publisher=Adage|date =June 30, 2003}}
In March 2011, New York-based private equity firm New Mountain Capital bought Symphony IRI{{cite web|url=http://www.newmountaincapital.com/media/46278/20151001.pdf|title=IRI: Crafting A Crystal Ball With Consumer Spending Data|publisher=New Mountain Capital|date=October 2015|access-date=2018-08-13|archive-date=2018-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305004742/http://newmountaincapital.com/media/46278/20151001.pdf|url-status=dead}} and the company announced that it was changing its name back to Information Resources Inc., or IRI.
In April 2013, Symphony IRI Group, Inc. announced that it was rebranding as IRI.{{cite news | url=https://www.supermarketnews.com/center-store/symphonyiri-rebrands-iri | title=SymphonyIRI Rebrands to IRI | work=Supermarket News | date=April 16, 2013}}
In January 2019, New Mountain Capital and Vestar Capital Partners (“Vestar”) announced that Vestar would lead a new investment in IRI.{{cite web|url=https://www.chaindrugreview.com/vestar-capital-partners-to-take-major-stake-in-iri|title=Vestar Capital Partners to take major stake in IRI|publisher=Chain Drug Review|date=January 2019}}
The company merged with The NPD Group in 2022. The company name changed to Circana in 2023.
Management
In February 2004, IRI named former Electronic Data Systems Corp executive Scott Klein as its president and CEO, succeeding Joe Durret.{{cite web| url =http://adage.com/article/people-players/iri-names-president-ceo/39352/|title=IRI NAMES NEW PRESIDENT-CEO|author=Jack Neff |publisher=Adage|date =February 3, 2004}} 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.{{cite web| url =http://adage.com/article/people-players/freeland-takes-ceo-post-iri/120864/|title=FREELAND TAKES CEO POST AT IRI|author=Jack Neff |publisher=Adage|date =October 2, 2007}}
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.{{cite web|url =https://www.supermarketnews.com/latest-news/symphonyiri-names-appel-president-ceo|title=SymphonyIRI Names Appel President, CEO|publisher=Supermarket News|date=June 6, 2012}}
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.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-20|title=Why Google and Procter & Gamble veteran will lead IRI|url=https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/why-google-and-procter-gamble-veteran-will-lead-iri/2337451|access-date=|website=Ad Age|language=en}}