Looking Forward to a Bright Future with IGA!

 December 31, 2012 

As we prepare to ring in the New Year around the globe, I wanted to take this opportunity to give you another reason to celebrate: We can look back on 2012 as an extremely successful year for your IGA family and brand.

We began the year with a Global Rally in Las Vegas that strengthened our ties with our friends at N.G.A. and demonstrated our brand progress, and followed it up here in the U.S. with a number of program implementations that were extremely well received by our IGA USA retailers and USA Alliance members as a whole. There was the addition of new online and classroom training sessions with the IGA Coca-Cola Institute, exciting new program elements to our IGALink digital marketing platform, new IGA Exclusive Brand product launches and two successful marketing programs involving our Exclusive Brand product line, and a host of innovative Red Oval partner initiatives that added value to our brand for IGA members and consumers alike. Add to that the fact that we have a rapidly expanding global store count and that we ended the year with positive store growth in the U.S. for the first time in two years, and you can see that the future of the brand—and our members' place in it—is brighter than it has ever been!

And we won't stop here. Going forward in 2013 we will continue to expand opportunities to reach shoppers digitally, will focus on new marketing initiatives that show shoppers our retailers are in touch with the issues that matter most, and we will continue to develop tools to help IGA retailers' family businesses thrive.

Most importantly, I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the huge accomplishments of our IGA retailers in 2012. Throughout this year—in both good times and in bad—you have once again demonstrated to the world that you are progressive, innovative and dedicated entrepreneurs at the cornerstone of commerce in communities around the globe. We thank you for all you do to serve and support your shoppers. We are proud of your accomplishments and proud of the reputation you've instilled in this great brand.

Wishing you a safe and blessed holiday from all of us here at IGA.

Mark Batenic