IGA NAMES 2007 INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS OF THE YEAR

Eight Receive Prestigious Global Award

CHICAGO, IL - Eight IGA Retailers were chosen to receive the 2007 IGA International Retailer of the Year awards from the more than 4,000 IGA Retailers worldwide. The awards were presented during the IGA International Retailers of the Year Awards Dinner Ceremony, held during the IGA Global Summit on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at Marriott’s Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Fla.

A committee of IGA executives chose the winners from a pool of applicants submitted by IGA’s Licensed Distribution Centers. Criteria for judging included:

• IGA Operational Assessment Rating
• Involvement in the 2006 80th anniversary marketing event program
• IGA Brand Support
• Merchandising, Leadership and Innovation
• Hometown Proud Community Involvement
• Employee Development

The retailers chosen for this prestigious award are:

Ian Ashcroft
Ashcroft’s Supa IGA Plus Liquor, Orange NSW, Australia IGA>D New South Wales Division

Gary and Terrie Baker
Baker’s IGA, Coshocton, Ohio
SUPERVALU INC.—Central Region, Xenia Division

Gwendolyn Christon
Isom IGA, Isom, Ky.
Merchants Distributors, Inc.

Woody Foster
Foster’s Food Fair IGA, Grand Cayman, BWI
SUPERVALU INC.—Southeast Region, Quincy Division

Dave Kaltenbach
Oberlin IGA, Oberlin, Ohio
Laurel Grocery Company

James Nilsson, Jr.
Geissler’s IGA, East Windsor, Conn.;
Bozzuto’s, Inc.

Roderick Rynke
Robinson IGA, Robinson, Ill.
SUPERVALU INC.—Midwest Region, Champaign Division

“In my 37 year career in this industry, I am proud to say I have seldom seen as fine a group of retailers as the 2007 class of IGA International Retailers of the Year,” IGA USA President, Chairman and CEO Mark Batenic said. “These retailers have embraced IGA’s ‘hometown proud’ philosophy as a way of life, serving their customers and communities with the personalized care that is the hallmark of IGA. I couldn’t be more pleased to be a part of this Alliance and help lead IGA USA into its promising future.”

“How rewarding it is, now that I have completed the transition into my new duties as IGA Global CEO, to have as one of my first orders of duty the task of congratulating two of our Global retailers for having been named IGA International Retailer of the Year,” IGA Global President, Chairman and CEO Dr. Thomas Haggai said. “As IGA Global continues its pattern of growth, it is my hope that these exemplary retailers lead the way for their International peers.”

IGA 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 has operations in 48 of the United States and more than 40 countries, commonwealths and territories on all six inhabited continents.