IGA NAMES 2005 INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS OF THE YEAR

Brendon Goddard Receives Prestigious Global Award

CHICAGO, IL - IGA today announced Brendon Goddard of Long Gully Supa IGA in Long Gully, Victoria, Australia, has been named one of six 2005 IGA International Retailers of the Year. Goddard 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. Goddard was honored at IGA's 2005 International Retailers of the Year Awards Dinner Ceremony held at the IGA Global Summit, Tuesday, March 1, at Marriott’s Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, Calif.

An IGA Retailer since 1999, Goddard, along with his partners Mike Zervakis and Steve Shipp, owns four IGA Supermarkets in Australia. In the past two years, Long Gully Supa IGA evolved from a convenience store to a full-service supermarket, offering one-stop shopping to its customers. As a result of a four-stage remodel, Long Gully Supa IGA has doubled its sales in the last three years. Goddard is currently in the process of developing two more IGA stores.

"By demonstrating a true commitment to his Hometown Proud community and operational excellence, Goddard’s performance parallels, if not surpasses, the best of the retail world’s standards," IGA Chairman and CEO Dr. Thomas Haggai said. “IGA Distribution, Laverton, Victoria, and IGA are proud to salute Brendon Goddard and his entire Long Gully Supa IGA team.”

“The day to day running of our company is truly a group effort,” Goddard said. “My two partners and I are proud to accept this prestigious award, and look forward to expanding our role in IGA even further in the coming years.”

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 37 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.