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, 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 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, New York, 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 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. 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 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.

Philippines

Walter Mart 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 in the north to Tanauan, Batangas in the south.Walter Mart website
/ref>

Gallery

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

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