LAUREL GROCERY COMPANY AWARDED THE 2003 IGA PRESIDENT'S
CUP FOR GREATEST IGA DEVELOPMENT
CHICAGO, IL – IGA today announced Laurel Grocery
Company, a leading Alternative Full Line Wholesaler
to IGA retailers in Kentucky
, Tennessee
, Georgia
, Ohio ,
Indiana and West
Virgina , has been awarded the 2003 IGA President's Cup
for Greatest IGA Development. President Jim Buchanan accepted the
prestigious award on March 11th at IGA's 2003 Global Summit
in Palm Springs , Calif.
The IGA President's Cup Awards are given each year
to two licensed distribution centers; one that exhibit the greatest
IGA development, the other, the greatest overall IGA performance.
Included in the judging of these awards is the increase of IGA Retail
sales from last year, the net increase in total IGA retail square
footage, the number of supermarkets added to the IGA system, the IGA
Operational Assessment rating, IGA Brand support, Hometown Proud involvement
and participation in IGA events.
During Laurel Grocery's two years in the IGA system,
the licensed distribution center (LDC) has experienced rapid development.
Between 2001, the company's inaugural year, and 2002, the company
added 14 IGA supermarkets, had a 29 percent increase in IGA Brands
carried, and received either a Four or Five-Star Operational Assessment
Rating in 48 or its 68 stores.
"Laurel Grocery Company is one of the IGA's newer LDCs," said Dr.
Thomas Haggai, chairman and CEO of IGA. " Laurel
stepped into a geographic void that we have as a base
and they continue to spread in the enlisting of IGA liscensees. This
company is an example of what strong families can do when they have
a stirring commitment to their customer base. Laurel Grocery earned
well the 2003 IGA Presidents Cup for Greatest IGA Development."
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 4,000
Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 36 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 of
the United
States and more than 40 countries, commonwealths and
territories on all six inhabited continents.
