IGA NAMES 2004 INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS OF THE YEAR

William Lukeman to Receive Prestigious Global Award

CHICAGO, IL - IGA today announced William Lukeman of Hometown Proud Food IGA in Brentwood, N.Y., has been named one of five 2004 IGA International Retailers of the Year. Lukeman was chosen for the annual award from the 4,400 IGA Retailers worldwide. A committee of IGA executives and food industry experts based their decisions on performance of the retailers in areas ranging from leadership and innovation to hometown involvement and employee development. Lukeman was honored at IGA's 2004 International Retailers of the Year Awards Dinner Ceremony held on Tuesday, March 16 at the Marriott’s Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

"IGA International Retailers of the Year William Lukeman represent the very best the retail world has to offer," said Dr. Thomas Haggai, chairman and CEO of IGA. "This second generation Retailer of the Year comes from a prestigious IGA Family, yet has made a name for himself in his own right with Hometown Proud Food IGA. When he took over the faltering store in the fall of 2001, no one could have imagined the turnaround. Today, Hometown Proud Food IGA is Brentwood, N.Y.’s primary grocery store, and a true community center for the area’s primarily working class Spanish population."

“The experience I derived working with in my father’s IGA gave me the strength and courage to branch out on my own,” Lukeman said. “I’m very honored to be a part of such a supportive company. I’d also like to express my deepest gratitude to Bozzuto’s and my employees. Without them, I would have never been able to obtain this prestigious award."

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.