IGA NAMES 2002 INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS OF THE YEAR

SEVEN CHOSEN TO RECEIVE PRESTIGIOUS GLOBAL AWARD

The winners were chosen for the annual award from the 4,400 IGA Retailers worldwide. A committee of Food Industry experts based their decisions on performance of the retailers in areas ranging from leadership and innovation to hometown involvement and employee development. All seven retailers will be honored at IGA's 2002 International Retailers of the Year Awards Dinner Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, May 4, during the Food Marketing Institute's Supermarket Industry Exposition in Chicago.

"Our 2002 International Retailers of the Year represent the very best the retail world has to offer," said Dr. Thomas Haggai, chairman and CEO of IGA, INC. "While each has demonstrated a strong desire to succeed coupled with innovative leadership techniques, none has forgotten the simple hometown values that make their stores not just supermarkets, but true community centers."

The retailers chosen for this prestigious award are: Todge S. Armata of Ted's Foods IGA in Hebron. Conn.; Joe De Gouveila of Aerorand Friendly Grocer IGA in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa; Steve Goessling of Reading IGA in Reading, Ohio; Jim Hickman of Hickman's IGA in Bowling Green, Mo.; Paul Matovich of Columbus IGA Plus in Columbus, Mont; Joseph Romeo of Foodland IGA North Adelaide in North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; and Ted Thorne of Thorne's IGA SuperCenter in Carrollton, Ohio.

IGA, the only global supermarketer based in the United States, is the world's largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $21 billion per year. The Alliance includes more than 4,400 Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 37 distribution companies and more than 55 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items. IGA ranks in the top 10 in world food supermarketing. IGA has operations in 48 states and 41 countries, commonwealths and territories on all six inhabited continents.