IGA NAMES 2007 INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS OF THE YEAR

James Nilsson, Jr. of Geissler’s IGA Receive Prestigious Global Award

CHICAGO, IL - James Nilsson, Jr., owner of Geissler’s IGA in East Windsor, Conn., was named one of eight 2007 IGA International Retailers of the Year. Nilsson, who was chosen from the more than 4,000 IGA Retailers worldwide, was presented with the award 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 food industry 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 IGA 2006 80th anniversary marketing event program, IGA Brand support, merchandising, leadership and innovation, “Hometown Proud” community involvement and employee development.

Nilsson is a fourth generation grocery retailer who, with his siblings, owns six IGA supermarkets. In addition to the award-winning Geissler’s East Windsor IGA, the family operates Conn.-based IGA supermarkets in Windsor, South Windsor, Bloomfield, Gramby and another in Agawam, Mass.

“Jim and his family have a long and distinguished history in the grocery business, and a strong reputation in each of the communities they service,” IGA USA President, Chairman and CEO Mark Batenic said. “We are extremely proud to have Jim as a member of our IGA Family, and prouder still to honor him as an International Retailer of the Year.”

“It truly is an honor to have been named IGA International Retailer of the Year,” Nilsson said, “however this award should really be presented to the entire Geissler organization. Our 84 years of success are due to the hard work and dedication from our employees. It is their high level of commitment to our customers and the communities we serve that allow us to compete with the chain supermarkets.”

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 44 of the United States and more than 40 countries, commonwealths and territories on all six inhabited continents.