IGA RESETS FIELD SERVICE

CHICAGO, IL - Anticipating a strong growth year, IGA today announced its field service coverage plan for its U.S. Retail Family.

William Benzing, who has served as Chief Growth Officer for the past three years, will now give his time primarily to Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., IGA’s newest supplier. Benzing will assist in AWG’s ambitious plan in recruiting and supplying IGA stores from their multiple service areas. Benzing will also include in his responsibilities IGA’s SUPERVALU supplied stores in Illinois, a position for which he is ideally suited given that in previous years Benzing served his tenure as division president for J. M. Jones Division. Included also in his SUPERVALU role will be the IGA stores serviced from Quincy, Fla. and Indianola, Miss. He will round out his responsibility by assisting the IGA stores serviced by Roundy’s in Wisconsin.

Ricky St. John will be area director in a shared position. In this new approach he will work primarily with Nebraska headquartered Affiliated Foods - Midwest, which has additional centers in Elwood, Kan. St. John will be dually employed by IGA and Affiliated Foods.

Bill Overman will continue in his role serving retailers in Michigan, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In addition, he will be providing support for stores supplied by Merchants Distributors, Inc. of Hickory, N.C.; W. Lee Flowers of Scranton, S.C.; and the Nash Finch division of Statesboro, Ga.

Shane Maue will continue her role serving Cheshire, Conn., headquartered Bozzuto’s supplied stores in an area from Maryland to Maine. In addition to serving C&S Wholesale Grocers in the Northeast she will also pick up C&S Wholesale Grocers of Northern California.

Michael Abney, an employee of SUPERVALU, will continue his role as director of marketing to the IGA Retailers in the Northwest.

Jim Tooms, president of IGW L.L.C. Independent Grocers West, will continue his role of enlisting and serving retailers in New Mexico, Arizona, and California, along with several other new growth initiatives. Bashas’ well recognized regional chain is supplying these stores through its wholesale division, National.

Prominent Long Island IGA Retailer Richard Lukeman, leading IGA’s Steritech assessment program with multiple award winning stores and with his succession plan well in place, will lead IGA’s initiative in Florida with Associated Grocers of Florida, as well as work with Ira Higdon Grocery Company of Georgia.

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.