The Image Shoppe transitions to woman owned

Karen Tracey. Courtesy The Image Shoppe

After 18 years, Grand Rapids marketing firm The Image Shoppe (TIS) restructured its ownership.

Longtime Partner and Vice President of Client Relations Troy Best said he parted ways with TIS to pursue new endeavors. Husband-wife duo Rob McCarty and Karen Tracey assumed leadership of the agency, with Tracey as majority owner.

Tracey now is president and creative director of the firm, and McCarty assumed the role of managing partner.

“We’ve grown up in this business together as a family over the past 18 years, and I’m so excited to see what the future holds for Troy,” Tracey said. “As for TIS, we’re forging onward with business as usual while making some structural changes that will position us for further success in the coming year, including retooling our vision and mission, hiring new talent and updating processes to become even more efficient and provide further value for our clients.”

The now woman-owned branding company faced difficulties over the years, including the 2008-09 recession and COVID-19 strains over the past 20 months, but the team said they have come out strong and are confident the branding agency will continue to be successful under their leadership.

Rob McCarty. Courtesy The Image Shoppe

“Troy has been a great friend — really like a big brother — since our college days at GVSU (Grand Valley State University) and we’ve accomplished so much together,” McCarty said. “I’m thrilled to support him in this next chapter of his career, and I know he’ll always be rooting for us. While it’s a big change, we’ve set a solid foundation over the past two decades and we’re moving in a very positive direction.”

Throughout his tenure, Best served in multiple capacities under TIS, most recently for new client onboarding and leading the web development and digital teams.

“I am so proud of what we built at The Image Shoppe and look forward to seeing Rob and Karen grow TIS into the future,” Best said. “I’m grateful to my partners and for all the experiences and friends I have made at TIS, but I’m also very excited for a new challenge.”

TIS serves small- and medium-sized branding partners in Michigan and beyond, offering creative branding services, inventive problem solving and digital marketing services through effective strategy.