{"id":4040,"date":"2025-06-18T16:32:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T16:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/?p=4040"},"modified":"2025-06-19T10:08:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T10:08:48","slug":"from-our-ceo-messis-in-america-now-we-are-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2025\/06\/18\/from-our-ceo-messis-in-america-now-we-are-too\/","title":{"rendered":"FROM OUR CEO: Messi Is In America. Now We Are Too."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Icons.com was launched in 1999. To give you a sense of how long ago that was, Google had gone live just a few months prior. Back then, the plan was to share stories from the players themselves while simultaneously delivering the world\u2019s best signed sports memorabilia from a tiny office in Camden in North London directly to the doors of fans all over the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-six years later, we\u2019re still doing what we do best \u2014 though now from a state-of-the-art warehouse on the south coast of the UK. That said, we\u2019ve long since left the business of blogging to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2010, ahead of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, we decided to make our first real push into America, having been appointed FIFA\u2019s official memorabilia partner. We teamed up with a soccer-specific agency in the U.S., Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing, whose Managing Partner, Scott Hutchison, became our man on the ground. It was as much of a shame then as it is now that he was and is a Chelsea fan \u2014 but you can\u2019t win them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined Scott and our chairman Edward on a two-week road trip across the States, meeting with brands, retailers and media partners. It was scrappy but exciting and full of potential. And it worked. Our U.S. presence was up and running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, we built lasting partnerships, ran standout campaigns, supported thousands of customers, and made some unforgettable memories along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the time in 2014 when Scott and I found ourselves in the away end at Anfield with our now Director of Sales, Ben (a Liverpool fan like me) just in time to watch Gerrard slip, Ba score, and Chelsea spoil what we thought would be a title-clinching day. Scott celebrated like Jos\u00e9 Mourinho; Ben and I kept our heads down. Brutal stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Myself (centre), Scott Hutchison (left), and Ben Soley (right) at the infamous Liverpool v Chelsea clash of 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"\/
Scott Hutchison celebrates “like Jos\u00e9” at Anfield in 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Those kinds of moments \u2014 the wins, the losses, the stories \u2014 are what make this more than just business. We\u2019ve been at this together for a long time and there have been challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turns out running both iconsusa.com and icons.com was confusing search engines more than it was helping us so, sadly, our partnership with Gilt Edge came to a close. We needed a reset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the great Bill Shankly once said: \u201cIf you are first, you are first. If you are second, you are nothing.\u201d We\u2019ve always aimed to lead and now, with more experience and a sharper focus, we\u2019re taking another shot at getting this right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here we are: launching Icons Authentics USA. It’s a fully-incorporated U.S. business, led full-time by Scott. It marks a fresh start and a renewed commitment to the game in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soccer in the U.S. is booming. It\u2019s diverse, youthful, and it’s everywhere. The momentum isn\u2019t just about the upcoming FIFA World Cup \u2014 which, at the time of writing kicks off in less than a year \u2014 it\u2019s what comes after that truly matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s fitting that our biggest icon, Leo Messi, now calls the U.S. his home too. As his exclusive global memorabilia partner, we\u2019re ready to bring his story closer to American fans than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, America, here’s what this means for you<\/strong>. You\u2019ll still find us on Icons.com, but now you can shop in U.S. dollars, speak to a customer support team based in the U.S., and receive items shipped from within the States. That means no customs, no duties and no surprises. Just a faster, smoother service \u2014 and all the usual fully-fledged authenticity you expect from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been at this for 26 years. We\u2019re not going anywhere. I\u2019ll just need to get used to calling it “soccer” and wearing “cleats” not boots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For U.S. enquiries and business-to-business opportunities call Scott Hutchison on 773-504-7788<\/a> or email him directly on scott@icons.com<\/a>. For U.S. customer support, call 630-857-9043<\/a> or email customersupport@icons.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Icons.com was launched in 1999. To give you a sense of how long ago that was, Google had gone live just a few months prior. Back then, the plan was to share stories from the players themselves while simultaneously delivering the world\u2019s best signed sports memorabilia from a tiny office in Camden in North London… <\/p>\n

Read More<\/i><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[331,465],"tags":[620,382,431,622,275,22,623,621,524],"class_list":["post-4040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements","category-from-our-ceo","tag-america","tag-announcements","tag-dan-jamieson","tag-fifa-club-world-cup","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-lionel-messi","tag-scott-hutchinson","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Messi-Blog-V1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfQcey-13a","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2893,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2023\/03\/10\/fifa-world-cup-hero-emi-martinez-signs-with-icons-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":4040,"position":0},"title":"FIFA World Cup Hero Emi Martinez signs with Icons.com!","author":"Icons","date":"March 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Highly-decorated FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez put pen to product at our latest signing session, adding to the already star-studded list of footballing heroes to sign for Icons.com. 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