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IGA, Inc.

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IGA, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
FoundedMay 1926; 98 years ago (May 1926)
FoundersIndependent retailer owners
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Area served
22 countries
ParentSobeys (in Canada)
Websiteiga.com

IGA, Inc. is an international chain of grocery stores. Unlike chain stores IGA franchises are independently owned and operated. Many of these stores operate in small-town markets and belong to families that manage them. IGA was founded in the United States as the Independent Grocers Alliance in 1926. The headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.[1]

History

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IGA was started in May 1926 when a group of 100 independent retailers in Poughkeepsie, New York, and Sharon, Connecticut, led by J. Frank Grimes, organized themselves into a single marketing system. Guidance from the IGA management came in the form of marketing and access to a consistent supply chain. After a few years, the company began making its own canned food brand.

By the end of its first year, the group had expanded to include more than 150 retailers. In 1930, over 8,000 grocery stores were using the IGA name. As of 2024, IGA operates with over 6200 different locations worldwide.

William Olsen was the company CEO until 1988, when he was replaced by Thomas Haggai, who retired in 2016.[2]

The company uses the "Hometown Proud Supermarkets" slogan. Today, many IGA grocery stores are still located in smaller cities and towns throughout the United States.[2]

The stores in the alliance remain independently owned and operated. The alliance oversees several resources shared among the member stores, including, most visibly, the IGA store brand products and the logistical network that distributes them. The alliance also provides training and assessment programs and an online advertising platform. It regularly coordinates promotional events and charity fundraising events that benefit store communities.

As of 2023, IGA was in 22 countries.[3] There were 763 locations in 38 states and territories in the US. The states with the highest concentration are North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky.[4]

Australia

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The IGA brand in Australia is owned by Metcash, an Australian conglomerate retailer and wholesaler. The company supplies groceries, promotional materials, and other things to a large number of locally-owned Australian supermarkets and a few other brands like Foodland and Friendly Grocer. Collectively, it is the fourth-biggest competitor in major Australian supermarkets, after Coles, Woolworths and Aldi. There are 1,400 independently owned IGA stores throughout Australia, with most running their own IGA Community Chest, which raises funds to support local communities and charities.

Canada

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Logo used in Quebec and New Brunswick since January 1990. Before that, the international IGA logo was used.
IGA store (left) on Dundas Street in Toronto, September 1957.

In Canada (apart from British Columbia), IGA is a group of independent grocers supplied by Sobeys, which franchises the name. Acquired by Sobeys as part of its purchase of the Oshawa Group Ltd., it now operates primarily in Quebec.

Dominica

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HHV. Whitchurch is the only known company in Dominica that follows the IGA. It has one location in Dominica, in Roseau. It is located in Old Street, Box 771, Roseau, and is one of the popular supermarkets in the country.

Philippines

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Walter Mart Supermarket is the first and only alliance member in the Philippines. The store has 47 locations in the country, mostly in Metro Manila and Luzon - from Gapan, Nueva Ecija in the north to Tanauan, Batangas in the south.[5]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Independent Grocers Alliance". IGA. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Ernie (July 11, 2016). "The Surprisingly Resilient History of IGA, Which Gave Small Towns Groceries". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  3. ^ "Where is IGA?". iga.com. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  4. ^ "Number of IGA locations in the USA in 2023". ScrapeHero. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  5. ^ Walter Mart website
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