IGA, Inc. is an international chain of

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

s. Unlike

chain stores A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

, IGA

franchises Franchise may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Media franchise, a collection of related creative works, such as films, video games, books, etc., particularly in North American usage * "Franchise" (short story), a 1955 short story ...

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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as the Independent Grocers Alliance in 1926. The headquarters is in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in the

History

IGA was started in May 1926 when a group of 100 independent retailers in

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson River Valley region, midway between the core of the New ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

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

. 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 A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

products and the

logistical Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption according to the needs of customers. Logi ...

network that distributes them. The alliance also provides training and assessment programs and an online advertising platform. It regularly coordinates promotional events and

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

fundraising events that benefit store communities. As of 2023, IGA was in 22 countries. There were 763 locations in 38 states and territories in the US. The states with the highest concentration are

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Australia

The IGA brand in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

is owned by

Metcash Metcash Limited is an Australian Wholesaling, wholesaler and Conglomerate (company), conglomerate company that distributes food, liquor and hardware. The company is headquartered in Macquarie Park, Sydney. History Davids Holdings In 1927, Jo ...

, 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 Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...

. 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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(apart from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

), IGA is a group of independent grocers supplied by

Sobeys Sobeys Inc. is a national supermarket chain in Canada with over 1,500 stores operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than C$25.1 bil ...

, which franchises the name. Acquired by Sobeys as part of its purchase of the

Oshawa Group The Oshawa Group was a leading owner of supermarkets in Ontario, Canada; It was purchased by Empire Company Limited (Owner of Sobeys) in 1998. The Company was based in Etobicoke and traded on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges. History Fou ...

Ltd., it now operates primarily in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Dominica

HHV. Whitchurch is the only company in

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

that follows the IGA. It has one location in Dominica, in

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole French, Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George Parish, Dominica, Saint George Pa ...

Philippines

Walter Mart Walter Mart (stylized as WalterMart) is a Filipino chain of community shopping malls owned by Abenson Ventures, Inc. and are located in Metro Manila, Central, and South Luzon. The chain operates its anchor stores that include Walter Mart Supe ...

Supermarket is the first and only alliance member in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The store has 47 locations in the country, mostly in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

and

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

- from

Gapan, Nueva Ecija Gapan , officially the City of Gapan (, Ilocano: ''Siudad ti Gapan'', Kapampangan: ''Ciudad/Lakanbalen ning Gapan''), is a component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12 ...

in the north to

Tanauan, Batangas Tanauan, officially the City of Tanauan (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 193,93 ...

in the south.Walter Mart website
/ref>

Gallery

File:IGA in Bowman SC.jpg, Bowman IGA Foodliner in

Bowman, South Carolina Bowman is a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 968 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, a decline from 1,198 in 2000 United States census, 2000. Geography Bo ...

, in December 2008. This location closed after it caught fire on September 24, 2017; there are no plans to reopen it. File: IGA Springboro OH USA.JPG, New IGA storefront in

Springboro, Ohio Springboro is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Regarded as a suburb of Cincinnati and Dayton, it is located mostly in Warren County in Clearcreek and Franklin Townships; with a small portion in Miami Township in Montgomery County. The city ...

, in June 2009. This location closed in 2014 and was demolished in 2016. File:IGA in Wells Maine July 2021.jpg, Wells IGA Food Market in

Wells, Maine Wells is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Founded in 1643, it is the third-oldest town in Maine. The population was 11,314 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wells Beach is a popular summer destination. History Edmund ...

in July 2021 File:Igaqc.jpg, IGA Extra Langelier in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, in December 2006. File: IGA supermarket, Trenton, ME IMG 2445.JPG, Trenton Marketplace IGA in

Trenton, Maine Trenton is a town in Hancock County, Maine, Hancock County, Maine, United States, near Acadia National Park. The population was 1,584 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport is located in Trenton. In Ja ...

, in Hancock County in June 2014. In July 2020 the store was sold and affiliation changed to Shop&Save/Hannaford. File:IGACalumetMichigan.jpg, Pat's Foods IGA in

Calumet, Michigan Calumet ( or ) is a Village (United States), village in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The village is located within Calumet Charter Township, Michigan, Calumet Township, Houghton County, Michiga ...

, in August 2010. File:Tatsuda IGA.jpg, Tatsuda's IGA in

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a po ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, in June 2007. Established in 1916, the business predates the establishment of the IGA brand seen on its storefront. This location closed in 2020 after a landslide hit the store, and was later demolished.

References

External links

IGA USA

IGA Mid-Eastern USA

IGA Quebec

IGA Western Canada

IGA British Columbia

IGA Australia

Burlington Retro Meet the town's first supermarket
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iga, Supermarkets Companies based in Chicago Multinational companies American companies established in 1926 Retail companies established in 1926 Franchises Retailers' cooperatives in the United States Supermarkets of Canada Supermarkets of the United States Sobeys Supermarkets of Australia Cooperatives based in Illinois