Getting Ready for a Great 2013 with IGA Exclusive Brands!

 January 2, 2013 

There's no doubt about it: 2013 promises to be another great year for IGA product development and sales growth. How do we know? Because your Chicago team and Licensed Distribution Centers (LDCs) are working hard to build synergies and scale in your IGA Exclusive brand program, and the results are beginning to show!

We saw a record number of "new" IGA Exclusive Branded Products developed in 2012—with more on the way in 2013. Now it's up to you to work with your LDCs to place, price and promote new items in your IGA stores. Doing so will give you more sales-building opportunities, while providing IGA shoppers with more of the IGA products they love.

Moreover, we're seeing even stronger support for the IGA Exclusive Brand building programs like IGA's Wounded Warrior Project event and IGA Days. This year's Wounded Warrior event raised more than $250,000 for our nation's wounded service men and women, and we couldn't be more proud of the job you did getting the word out in your community. Likewise, the IGA Days event saw significant growth in its second year, with record sales and shopper registrations for the national consumer sweepstakes. After two extremely successful events in 2012, planning is already underway for even stronger programs in 2013. We'll have tremendous support lined up from your LDCs for both programs, as well as some new opportunities for increased incremental sales.

And that's not all we're planning: Other initiatives being reviewed for 2013 include a "Labels for Education" concept program involving IGA Exclusive Brand products, and new solutions for helping your LDCs expand their IGA Exclusive Brand offerings.

So, as you can see, we have an exciting year ahead of us with even more promise for IGA Exclusive Brand growth. On behalf of your entire IGA Chicago Exclusive Brand team, Happy New Year! We're looking forward to working with you to make this your most successful year yet!

Thanks,

Dave Bennett