Leading independents awarded for excellence

Frewville Foodland IGA (SA) and Taylor Rd IGA (WA) were jointly named national Retailer of the Year at the prestigious IGA Awards of Excellence this week.

The IGA Awards of Excellence recognised the dedicated efforts of the stores and their staff in their communities and heralded the winning stores as benchmarks for the 1,455 independent supermarkets across the IGA retail network.

The national awards were judged on a range of criteria, including what the store is famous for, customer service, community contribution, department excellence, brand values, sales, profits, merchandising, shopper experience and the store’s overall performance.

The awards were presented to the store teams by Metcash CEO of Supermarkets Steven Cain and IGA Retailer Council Chairman Ben Ryan.

“We’re extremely proud to formally acknowledge and celebrate the hard work, commitment and excellence that stores in the IGA network have demonstrated throughout the year,” Mr Cain said.

“Congratulations to all of our winning IGA stores, who have delivered an outstanding shopping experience tailored to their customers in their awarded categories. Our network of 1,455 independent stores continue to do an incredible job in supporting their communities across Australia. We are delighted to acknowledge their outstanding achievements, contribution to the independent retail grocery industry and the Australian economy.”

IGA Awards of Excellence take place each year at a gala dinner during the Metcash Food and Grocery Expo on the Gold Coast to celebrate the success across IGA’s network of stores. This year the awards also recognised supplier partners and the role they play in supporting the IGA network.

More than 6,000 retailers and suppliers visit the expo from across the Metcash business to experience retailing best practice, the latest products and food trends to bring to shoppers at their IGAs.

Award winners

• Joint National Retailers of the Year: Frewville Foodland IGA, SA – Commercial Retail Group, Spero & Nick Chapley and Taylor Rd IGA, WA – James Kelly.
• Foodland/SUPA IGA Store of the Year: Frewville Foodland IGA, Adelaide, SA.
• IGA Store of the Year: Taylor Rd IGA, Perth, WA.
• IGA X-press Store of the Year IGA X-press Arthur Street (Hill Street Grocer), Hobart, Tas.
• Hall of Fame: Fred Harrison, Ritchies IGA.
• IGA Bakery Department of the Year: Ritchies IGA, Mt Eliza, Vic.
• IGA Grocery & General Merchandise Department of the Year: Ritchies IGA, Mt Eliza, Vic.
• IGA Delicatessen Department of the Year: IGA Marketplace Wises Road, Maroochydore, Qld.
• IGA Meat Department of the Year: Riverton Fresh IGA, WA.
• IGA Produce Department of the Year: Taylor Rd IGA, WA.
• IGA Dairy-Freezer Department of the Year: IGA Beerwah, Qld.
• SUPA IGA Meat Department of the Year: SUPA IGA Atherton, Qld.
• SUPA IGA Dairy-Freezer Department of the Year: White’s SUPA IGA Bli Bli, Qld.
• SUPA IGA Grocery & General Merchandise Department of the Year: Ashcroft’s SUPA IGA Summer Centre, Orange, NSW.
• Foodland IGA Produce Department of the Year: Frewville Foodland IGA, SA.
• Foodland IGA Bakery Department of the Year: Frewville Foodland IGA, SA.
• Foodland IGA Delicatessen Department of the Year: Frewville Foodland IGA, SA.
• Service Department of the Year: Wonthella SUPA IGA, WA.
• Retail Transformation & Innovation Award: IGA Thornlands, Brisbane, Qld.
• Community Award: Ashcroft’s Group Orange, NSW.
• Rising Star Award: Paul Scott, Cornett’s IGA, Cooktown, Qld.