IGA NAMES 2004 INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS OF THE YEAR

Five Chosen to Receive Prestigious Global Award

CHICAGO, IL - The winners were chosen for the annual award from the 4,400 IGA Retailers worldwide. A committee of IGA executives and 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 five retailers were honored at IGA's 2004 International Retailers of the Year Awards Dinner Ceremony held on Tuesday, March 16 at the Marriott’s Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

"Our 2004 International Retailers of the Year represent the very best the retail world has to offer," said Dr. Thomas Haggai, chairman and CEO of IGA. "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 more than supermarkets, but rather true community centers."

The retailers chosen for this prestigious award are: Jeff Clark of Attica IGA in Attica, Ind.; Troy Cochran of Valley IGA Plus in Waterford, Calif.; Rick Keil of Keil’s IGA Food Stores in San Diego, Calif.; Graham Legge of IGA Tuckerbag Moss Vale in Moss Vale, New South Wales, Australia; and William Lukeman of Hometown Proud Food IGA in Brentwood, N.Y.

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 the 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.