H.Y. LOUIE CO. LIMITED TO JOIN IGA INTERNATIONAL

CHICAGO, IL - IGA today announced it is granting Burnaby, B.C. based H.Y. Louie Co. Limited a license to become an IGA International Licensed Company and Distribution Center. The company will be formally welcomed at the Feb.28th Business Session of IGA’s 2005 Global Summit in Palm Springs, Calif.

H.Y. Louie Co. Limited, founded 101 years ago, is one of North America’s oldest wholesale grocers. In 1952, IGA Canada, by mutual agreement, separated itself from the IGA core so they could enjoy some regulatory benefits exclusive to them. IGA, INC.’s global growth and development of the subsidiary companies, IGA International Pte, Ltd., and IGA, USA have made it attractive for H. Y. Louie to again become part of the core of IGA.

“H.Y. Louie, with its Market Place IGA’s, has been one of the most frequented places for international visitors to gain a glimpse of how a group of Chinese immigrants 100 years ago had the vision in keeping with what IGA’s founder J. Frank Grimes undertook in 1926,” said Thomas S. Haggai, chairman and CEO of IGA. “Brant Louie, following in the steps of his father and grandfather, is one of Canada’s most respected business leaders and we’re pleased that he would join our brilliant group of executives that are leading IGA around the world. On a personal note, one of the richest experiences of my own family has been our friendship with the Louies.”

“We felt it would be very beneficial in our long-term strategy to participate in the knowledge exchange through IGA International’s observation of best practices around the globe, as well as benefit from potential product trading,” said Randy Melnychenko, H.Y. Louie Co. Limited’s Executive Vice President & C.O.O.

At present H.Y. Louie operates a 150,000 square-foot warehouse focusing on dry grocery, frozen food and some refrigerated grocery. In addition to servicing a number of wholesale outlets, it services 41 Market Place IGA stores, from Port McNeil on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island to Kaslo in the southeastern part of the province called the Kootenays, to as far northeast as McBride. The stores range in size from 10,000 to 35,000 square-feet. H.Y. Louie is also one of Canada’s leading pharmaceutical names.

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.