IGA NAMES EIGHT FINALISTS FOR 2008 IGA U.S. RETAILERS OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO, IL - IGA today announced it has chosen from applicants submitted by its licensed distribution companies eight IGA U.S. Retailer of the Year finalists. Of the eight, three will be named IGA U.S. Retailers of the Year and honored at the 2008 IGA Global Summit Awards Banquet held in Carefree, Ariz., March 29. During that ceremony one of three will be awarded the additional title of 2008 IGA U.S. International Retailer of the Year for having achieved within the U.S. the superior level of excellence in IGA retailing as judged by IGA’s global standards.

Under IGA’s newly revamped Awards of Excellence process, the eight retailers will be visited by IGA executives for a store evaluation, and will also be required to submit a short essay explaining how their stores demonstrate operational excellence in regard to service, branding, marketing and community commitment. Once the store visits are complete and essays have been reviewed, a panel of judges will name the three IGA U.S. Retailers of the Year.

The finalists include:

According to IGA USA CEO Mark Batenic, the program’s more rigorous and challenging standards create a fair and equitable process for retailer recognition. Included in those standards was the stipulation that all candidates have achieved a Five Star rating under IGA’s Assessment program.

“Because of the revised standards, our licensed distribution companies submitted an exceptionally deserving group of candidates,” IGA CEO Mark Batenic said. “It then goes without saying that our finalists are the elite among independent retailers, and that each of them has demonstrated exemplary IGA brand-building accomplishments within the last year. We look forward to visiting these retailers’ stores, and ultimately determining those who will receive our prestigious IGA awards.”