Tag: Icons

Icons Shop Limited Shortlisted For A Sports Business Award

Icons Shop Limited is delighted to announce that it has been shortlisted as a finalist in the category of Best Small Business Serving Sport at the Sports Business Awards 2017.

This past year, we celebrated working with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for over a decade. We also announced a brand new licence with The Football Association to produce Official England Licensed Memorabilia, further expanding our range of official licences with the world’s biggest organisations, events and brands, which already included the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA EURO 2016 and Official Messi Signed Merchandise.

In addition, Icons Shop Limited doubled turnover, experienced record sales for the busy Christmas and New Year period, expanded its staff and further strengthened its relationships with the world’s best footballers.

The Sports Business Awards celebrates “the vital influence of business within sport” and “recognises the organisations, teams and individuals who excel in a variety of business, CSR and sports governance disciplines.” The ceremony, which takes on June 2nd at The Brewery in London, will be attended by over 400 professionals from a variety of industries within the world of sport.

Also nominated in our category are All Sport Insurance, Beyond 90, Designwerk, FKPro, HRP Equestrian, ILG Business Ltd and Traveleads.

 

Click here to find out more about the Sports Business Awards. For the full list of finalists, click here.

For all our latest product news, behind the scenes content, giveaways and competitions, please follow Icons on FacebookTwitterInstagram and YouTube.



CLOSED | WIN a Nike boot signed by Cristiano Ronaldo Or Neymar Jr!

Signed-Boot-Giveaway

It’s competition time! To celebrate the birthdays of global football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr on Friday February 5th, Icons are giving you the chance to win a signed boot from one of these two awesome players.

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this incredible prize is to head over to our Facebook page and give us a like or follow us on Twitter and keep an eye out for our posts and tweets relating to the competition. You’ll need to like or retweet one of those related posts as well as like or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to be in the draw for a boot. When the draw closes on Friday February 12th at 12pm GMT, we’ll be picking one lucky winner from both Facebook and Twitter.

Good luck!

iccrb13-cristiano-ronaldo-signed-nike-pink-boot_1_1icnjsb2-neymar-jr-signed-nike-hypervenom-white-boot

Terms & Conditions
1) The promoter of this competition is Icons Shop Ltd, whose registered office is at Highgate Business Centre, 33 Greenwood Place, London, NW5 1LB, UK. 2) Employees of Icons Shop Ltd, their family members or anyone else connected in any way with the competition or helping to set up the competition shall not be permitted to enter the competition. 3) There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition. 4) Closing date for entry will be Friday February 12th at 12pm GMT. After this date no further entries to the competition will be permitted. 5) No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received after the closing date for whatever reason. 6) The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter. 7) The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition. 8) No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice. 9) Winners will be chosen at random from all entries received and verified by Icons Shop Ltd and or its agents. 10) Winners will receive one signed boot from a player of their choice between Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. 11) Entry to this competition constitutes either one of the following; the entrant must “like” the official Facebook page of the promoter and “like” one or more “post” relating to the competition on Facebook or; “follow” the official Twitter page of the promoter and “retweet” one or more “tweet” relating to the competition on Twitter. 12) The winner will be notified via the social media channel from which they entered the competition within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within three days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner. 13) The promoter will notify the winner of how the prize can be collected. 14) The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. 15) By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions. 16) The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England. 17) The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent. 18) Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions. 19) This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network.


Icons Visits Barcelona’s Training Ground To Meet Luis Suarez

Having met with Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta on Friday and Sunday respectively, Icons rounded off a fantastic weekend of signings by spending Monday morning with fellow FC Barcelona superstar Luis Suarez at the club’s training ground, La Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.
FCB-2

The Icons team arrived shortly before the players’ first session of the day and were greeted by flashing cameras as eager fans tried to snap a photo of their heroes going to work.

Setting ourselves up in a private room within the impressive facilities, Icons eagerly awaited an in-form Luis, who arrived ten minutes later, wearing Barca’s blue and yellow training kit and a cheeky smile on his face.FCB

Although the signing was brief, we still found time to chat to Luis about La Blaugrana’s title hopes and the team’s upcoming trip to Japan for this year’s FIFA Club World Cup. Having expressed his excitement for the rest of the season, Luis also revealed the statue of himself that is to be erected in his hometown of Salto in Uruguay would be ready in March.

Luis-Suarez-Icons-Signing-Photos-Shirt

Signing a host of products including the 2015-16 Barcelona home shirt, Luis also added his signature to a photo already signed by Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. The excellent photo shows “The Three Amigos” celebrating their famous UEFA Champions League triumph in Berlin last season.Luis-Suarez-Icons-Signing-Photos

It was a remarkable season that saw the Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil forwards score a staggering 122 goals, as Luis and Neymar both scored in the showpiece final against Juventus to securea historic treble. The photo is available in our Official UEFA Champions League framing style and with just ten of these items in the world; it’s a product that is not to be missed.

It seems that almost as soon as Luis is with us, he’s whisked away again, back to training before a litany of media appearances on a busy day as Barcelona prepare for Wednesday’s Copa Del Rey clash with Segunda side Villanovense. Luis-Suarez-Icons-Signing-Photos

With that Icons’ long weekend away with the Catalan club’s superstars is over. Flying home in high spirits, the team is ready and raring to dispatch orders from our massive Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. So, keep your eyes glued to icons.com for our brand new range of signed products.

For our full range of Luis Suarez products, including shirts, photos, boots and balls, check out icons.com now!

Photos courtesy of Matt Hardy. For more images of Icons’ visit to Barcelona, visit www.matthardyphotography.co.uk.

Follow Icons on FacebookTwitter and Instagram for all our latest blog posts, chat and competitions.



Barcelona and Spain Legend Andres Iniesta Signs For Icons Again

Fresh from our signing with Lionel Messi – and an exceptional performance from Barcelona at Camp Nou – the Icons team were hard at work again on Sunday night as we met with four-time UEFA Champions League winner, two-time UEFA EURO finals conquerer and 2010 FIFA World Cup hero Andres Iniesta in central Barcelona for the second of three signings with Barca’s best.

Andres-Inesta-Icons-Signing-Photos

Though he may be advancing in age, Andres seems to be as good as ever in his inimitable role as Barcelona’s pass master. The Spaniard was superb in his side’s 4-0 demolition of Real Sociedad on Saturday afternoon (for which Icons must again thank our friend Lionel for pitch-side tickets), and after a historic 2014-15 season in which he and his Blaugrana cohorts cantered to domestic and UEFA Champions League glory, Andres looks to be on track for another remarkable season.

It’s no wonder he was in high spirits as we begun our session.

The 31-year-old merrily added his autograph to our excellent range of new products, including Barcelona home shirts from the previous two seasons, away kits from 2014-15 and 2008-09, and Spain tops from 2013.

Andres-Inesta-Icons-Shirt

With a collection of his favourite music playing in the background – including Leeds-based rockers Kasabian and Spanish duo Estopa – Andres also signed our latest Nike boots, photos of some of his most glorious moments in the football and, perhaps most exciting of all, two extra special match-worn shirts.

Andres-Inesta-Icons-Boot

The first of which came directly from Spain’s 2-0 victory over England in the nations’ recent friendly in Alicante on November 13. Andres played a pivotal role during the first half that evening as his side eased to victory over Roy Hodgson’s Three Lions and further showcased their strength in depth ahead of next summer’s UEFA EURO 2016 tournament in France.

Soon after Andres signed his matchworn Barcelona shirt from the recent Clasico in which he and his Barca teammates humiliated Real Madrid with a 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeau. It was Andres that evening who, as per usual, pulled the strings as Barcelona ran riot against their La Liga rivals. Proving his enduring class, Andres sprayed the ball around the park with consulate ease and deadly accuracy before scoring with a fierce strike at the end of a typically devastating Barca move.

Andres-Inesta-Matchworn-Barcelona-Shirt

This is a truly special item and will be available on icons.com very soon – so keep your eyes peeled.

After all our products were signed, Andres happily posed for photos with the Icons team before being whisked away – presumably to bed before an early morning training session. A training session Icons might get to have a sneak of, as we prepare to complete our hat-trick of Barcelona signings with the addition of a certain Luis Suarez on Monday morning.Andres-Inesta-Icons

Phew! What a weekend!

Be sure to check out icons.com for all our latest products from Andres, Leo and Luis as we continue to bring you the world’s best signed memorabilia from the world’s best footballers in the build-up to Christmas 2016.

Photos courtesy of Matt Hardy. For more images of Icons’ visit to Barcelona, visit www.matthardyphotography.co.uk.

Follow Icons on FacebookTwitter and Instagram for all our latest blog posts, chat and competitions.



Cristiano Ronaldo: Anatomy Of An Icons Signing

Want to know what went down when Icons met up with Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this week? Well, look no further. Here’s how the team got on in the company of the Real Madrid and Portugal legend.

ronaldo-autograph-signing-session-icons.com

On 10 March, a mere month after Icons’ last signing with Cristiano Ronaldo, the Real Madrid superstar scored two goals in his side’s 5-4 aggregate defeat of Schalke in the UEFA Champions League. In doing so, he further cemented his place as one of the greatest players in the grand history of European football.

Why?

Because Ronaldo’s brace that night – his 77th and 78th goals in UEFA club competitions – broke Raul’s all-time record, setting in motion another incredible year for the Portuguese forward. A year in which he became both the UEFA Champions League and Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer; secured a place at UEFA EURO 2016 as part of a Portugal side who won all but one match during qualification (Ronaldo missed that particular game); netted 44 goals in 46 games for club and country; and announced the release date and trailer for a highly-anticipated documentary about his life.

So it’s no surprise the 30-year-old phenomenon was all smiles when he arrived at our signing.

Cheerfully autographing our exclusive range of excellent new products, Ronaldo promptly signed each variety of our new Real Madrid shirts, with UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and La Liga patches; plus Nike boots; photos; and official UEFA Champions League balls. But one particular product that caught the forward’s eye was our new All-Time Top Scorer 324 Goals shirt, which commemorates his breaking of Raul’s all-time scoring record for Real Madrid.

Ronaldo then moved on to our Manchester United home shirts. This brought back fond memories, as always. The former Red Devils star, who played nearly 200 times for the Old Trafford club, still has a great love of England, as he mentioned how he wishes he could return more often than he is able to.

Excited for the upcoming release of a documentary that follows his sparkling career – for which Ronaldo has personally invited Icons to the glitzy London premiere – this is superstar who has plenty to look forward to as the year comes to a close. But we at Icons are sure you can expect much more from this exceptional footballer in 2016.

Our new and exclusive range of Cristiano Ronaldo products is only available now on www.icons.com.

Follow Icons on Twitter for all the latest football news, chat and competitions: @icons_football



Relaunched: The World’s Best Memorabilia Brand Now Has The World’s Best Website

Icons.com relaunches. The world’s best memorabilia brand now has the world’s best site

Icons-World-Best-Site

Today, we’re very excited to relaunch the Icons website. We just wanted to explain what we’ve done and why we’ve done it.

Designed for tablets and mobiles

The site has been completely rebuilt and now has a responsive design which means it automatically resizes to fit the screens of a desktop computer, a tablet or a mobile device. Over half our customers view the site on either a tablet or a mobile and we’re hoping this makes it a lot easier for them to use.

Easy shopping experience

We have concentrated our efforts on ensuring that the site is easy to use, intuitive and reassures our customers of our authenticity at every level. We now have a quicker checkout, wish lists and a personal account option where you can store your details.

Showcase our licensed collection

Icons are the only company allowed to create official memorabilia ranges for FIFA World Cups and the UEFA Champions League. Today we also launch our new collection: UEFA Euro2016 France to celebrate the history and excitement around next year’s tournament in France.

More video content

Icons lead the memorabilia market in authentication videos – no one else does videos of this quality or standard to 100% reassure our customers on the authenticity of the products they’re buying. We showcase our limited edition products and our long term, on-going relationships with the world’s best players, past and present. Check out our most recent releases from Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr, as well as our summer signing with the Dutch Masters – Van Basten, Guillit and Rijkaard.

Increased security

Icons have moved onto a new open-source platform called Magento. Without boring you with too much tech speak, it basically means that the platform is regularly upgraded so we can be constantly on top of new web developments and we also have enhanced security for ourselves and for our customers too.

More news and features

We’ve also relaunched our blog on News.icons.com, check out articles about our recent signings. We will be integrating our videos, social media and photos as well our links to the players’ own websites and social media so we can keep you up to date with our signings and what our players are up to too.

Feedback

We’re always happy to hear from our customers so let us know on customersupport@icons.com what you think. We look forward to hearing from you and hope your experience is world class.

Dan Jamieson,

CEO Icons Shop Ltd

 

 



Luis Suarez Signs With Icons Again

Luis-Suarez-Signing-Session-Icons

After such a successful year, it’s no surprise that Luis Suarez is ready and raring to go again as the 2015-16 season commences, starting with Barcelona’s Super Cup Final against Sevilla in Georgia. Former Liverpool hero and now an integral part of Barcelona’s attacking triumvirate, Luis Suarez is a natural born winner. Tireless in the pursuit of victory, Suarez was vital in Barcelona’s treble triumph of 2015, contributing 25 goals and 24 assists in just half a season.

Most notable were his performances in Barcelona‘s lime coloured away shirt. First scoring two sublime goals against PSG in the Champions League Quarter Finals, and secondly against Bayern Munich where he assisted twice, putting it on a plate for Neymar Jr on both occasions. He was also key in dismantling Manchester City in the previous round of the competition, scoring two goals in 14 first half minutes at the Etihad.

'LUIS-7'-SIGNED-SHIRT WATERMARKED

The Uruguayan only seems to get better and with icons such as Messi, Neymar and Iniesta around him, that progress does not look like stopping any time soon. The future certainly looks bright for Luis Suarez and Barcelona. Slotting into the deadliest attacking trio on the planet, Suarez has achieved so much in just half a season’s playing time. Having seemingly left the controversy of his past behind him, Suarez’s dynamic play and lethal finishing has added a new dimension to a revamped Barcelona. Can anyone snatch the Champions League, La Liga or Copa Del Rey away from Catalonia? It seems obvious that ‘El Pistolero’ will have something to say about that.

Watermarked

In his homeland, Suarez is lauded as a national hero. Alongside Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani, he has helped forge one of the deadliest strike forces in international football and will soon lead the line as the team’s star man. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa he played an important role in Uruguay‘s fourth-place finish, scoring three goals, and also blocked an extra time goal bound header with his hands during the quarter finals against Ghana. He was dismissed, but Uruguay went on to triumph via penalties. His jubilant celebrations afterwards attracted criticism from some, but for others, emphasised Suarez’s best qualities: he is a champion and a patriot, at all costs.

Watermarked

Suarez has been signing with Icons.com for 4 years now, ever since he first came to Liverpool in 2011. Luis Suarez memorabilia is hugely popular on icons.com and we are delighted to stock products carrying the authentic Luis Suarez autograph. These include current and previous Barcelona andUruguay shirts as well as seminal photographs and posters signed by all three of the amigos. Don’t miss out on these ultimate collector’s items, a must-have for any true Barcelona fan.

 



Icons Shop Limited Becomes The World’s Largest Football Memorabilia Company

ICONS BECOMES WORLD’S LARGEST FOOTBALL MEMORABILIA COMPANY

– Marka PJSC acquires a majority stake in Icons Shop Limited

– Icons buys assets of A1 Sporting Memorabilia, to create world’s largest football memorabilia company

London – June 15, 2015 – Icons Shop Limited, the UK-based signed memorabilia company today announced that it had sold a majority stake to Marka PJSC (DFM: MARKA), the first public joint stock company focused on the UAE’s retail sector. Marka acquired a sixty-five per cent share for £2.65 million. Icons have used the investment to create the largest football memorabilia company in the world, through the purchase of the assets of rival A1 Sporting Memorabilia.

Icons, which was established in 1999, retails exclusive and non-exclusive sports merchandise, has a key focus on football. The company was awarded the world’s first ever signed football memorabilia licence by FIFA in 2010 to produce a range of signed iconic World Cup products. In July 2012, Icons was awarded the first ever official licence for the UEFA Champions League and this year announced a licensing deal for UEFA Euro2016 France. The company holds valuable licensing contracts with the world’s most famous players; including Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale and enjoys long term relationship with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona and Neymar Jr.

Marka will integrate Icons and A1 products into its Modell’s Sporting Goods stores as well as its just opened UEFA Champions League Experience, located in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Mall in the United Arab Emirates. The concept, developed in partnership with UEFA, is the first of its kind and plans are confirmed for multiple locations across the GCC.

Dan Jamieson, managing director of Icons said, “Icons is the world’s leading football memorabilia brand and the most trusted operation in the game. Authenticity is everything to us, as it is everything to our customers. Our new joint venture with Marka enables us to open up our offerings to the Middle East region and beyond, bringing the millions of dedicated fans there the very best choice and quality of sports memorabilia. With the acquisition of A1 we have unprecedented access to, and a wide portfolio of, past and present icons of the game.”

Nick Peel, CEO of Marka and chairman of the joint venture between Marka and Icons, said, “The acquisition of a majority stake in Icons is an important strategic addition to our growing sports retail portfolio. With the addition of A1, the company will be the world’s leading football memorabilia brand and makes Marka a market leader in a highly-profitable segment, with strong international growth potential through the successful online websites Icons.com and A1sportingmemorabilia.co.uk.”

image (4)

Terry Baker, Founder and CEO of A1 Sporting Memorabilia, commented, “We are delighted to sell the UK’s leading memorabilia website, eBay store, stock and other assets to Icons. They understand the A1 brand and with the existing team, will continue to bring our national and international audience legendary players at legendary prices. We will still be involved as consultants, but will be primarily concentrating on our sporting speaker business.”

Marka confirmed that Mr. Jamieson will remain with Icons as its chief executive officer, Icons’ current chairman, Edward Freedman will remain as a board director. Nick Peel, chief executive officer of Marka and a former retail and licensing director at Arsenal FC, will assume the role of chairman of Icons.

About Icons Shop Limited:

Icons has been in business since 1999, the full range is available on www.icons.com

Icons exclusively produce the official Leo Messi Signed Merchandise range and are entering into the 10th year of their relationship with the world’s best player. Icons hold the licences for the UEFA Champions League, The FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia, the UEFA Europa League and The UEFA European Championships – UEFA Euro2016 France.

Icons Chairman, Edward Freedman, has over 40 years’ experience in the retail industry and in the late 80s was Managing Director of Tottenham Hotspur. He then moved to Manchester United and became Managing Director of Manchester United Merchandising from 1992 onwards. Over the next six years he transformed the commercial side of the club’s operation and built Manchester United into the biggest brand in world football. He was also a key player in the formation of the Premier League and was hailed by The Economist as “football’s merchandising guru”.

Icons are an international brand and supply to well over 90 countries each year and have representatives in North America and regularly supply customers in Japan, China. Australia and the Middle East.

Icons employs the highest standards in the signed football merchandise industry to assure customers of the authenticity of its products. At each event, photographs document each signature and Icons creates a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) for each item including the date and venue and a picture of the product and the signing image. Each product carries a uniquely coded Icons hologram whose identical twin is added to the COA which is signed by the Icons Managing Director.

Icons products are sold in Harrods in the UK, Futbolmania in Spain, UEFA Champions League Experience Abu Dhabi and Modell’s Sporting Goods stores in Dubai.

For further information about Icons, visit www.icons.com or email dan@icons.com

About Marka PJSC:

image (5)

Marka PJSC (DFM: MARKA) is the first public joint stock company focused on the growing retail sector in the UAE. Incorporated with a capital of AED 500 million and headquartered in Dubai, Marka is a premier retail operator targeting the mid-to-high-range and luxury segments.

Since incorporation in 2014, Marka has partnered with leading global brands in the retail and hospitality sectors, pursuing a growth strategy focused on acquisitions, franchise agreements and unique retail concepts. Marka is committed to offering value to its customers through high quality products and services at optimum cost, simultaneously generating value for its shareholders and giving back to the communities in which it operates.

For further information about Marka and to learn more about its brands, visit www.markaholding.com