IDS is an international business, with strong British roots. We’re really proud to support UK manufacturing and most 1st Position™ dancewear is made in the UK. We are based in Devon, a beautiful part of south-west England, and employ over sixty people in our warehouse and offices. We have a showroom in the same building, open to all our customers, so if you’re looking for costumes for your show, a uniform for your class or even if you’re just on holiday in the South West and fancy having a cream tea with us, please do contact customer services to arrange a visit: we’d love to see you!
A little bit of company history…
IDS founder, Anne Walker, had always been part of the dance world: aged 17, she opened her own dance school in Liverpool and bought leotards and shoes at a discount in order to supply her students. Four years later in 1978, the product side was turning into a profitable business and Anne decided she could make better quality, better value leotards herself. She borrowed £50 to buy a very ancient industrial overlocker (see picture), enlisted some of her older students and parents to help out and went into production: IDS was born!
Over the last four decades, IDS has become one of the world’s largest wholesale dancewear suppliers with a multi-million pound turnover. Our customer base includes thousands of dance teachers worldwide, with whom we have a reputation for quality products and great service. Many of our staff come to work at IDS with a background in dance and we are all passionate about what we do.
Anne Walker was awarded the MBE in 2010 for her services to business and a few years later, she decided it was time for her to step back from the day-to-day running of IDS. In 2012, Jeremy Ellison joined the Board as Finance Director and in 2014, Kamlesh Raichura was appointed Managing Director,
Sue Sturton became our Customer Director. Over the last four years, several of our employees have invested in the company alongside Anne and our business continues to grow, in the UK, in Europe and beyond. We believe we have an unrivalled commitment to the dance world and we always focus on “inspiration, innovation and imagination” for our customers.
*Calls to IDS are charged at the UK geographic rate. 03 numbers can be included in inclusive minutes call plans; please check with your phone provider for details. International call charges will apply depending on your location.
