IGA Names Three Retailer of Year Winners

CHICAGO — IGA USA here has named three member companies that will be among those honored as International Retailers of the Year at the alliance's Global Rally here in April.

The winners are:

• Tammy Bailey, owner of Bailey's IGA, Rochester, Wash., who said her store has "really stepped up [its] merchandising game in the last year" by leveraging its relationships with vendors at the local level to help merchandise products in more creative ways. "All it took was a little more communication on our part, and suddenly we're seeing the true advantage of this relationship," Bailey told IGA.

• Mike Trask, owner of Granite Falls IGA, Granite Falls, Wash., which is the only retail store of any kind in its community. "That means we have a responsibility to balance great offerings and customer service with community contribution. But to us, standing out isn't enough. We want to be the best, so we focus a lot of our time and energy on things shoppers simply can't find anywhere else," he said.

• Jeff Zollpriester, owner of Quality Foods IGA, Schofield, Wis., who said the success of a grocery store is based more on the owner's relationship with his employees than with customers. "Store owners say over and over the customer has to come first," he told IGA. "The way I see it, the owner has to put the employees first, nurturing them and helping them become true stewards of the business. When you do that, those employees begin to take ownership of the business and build relationships where they put the shopper first."

The international arm of IGA will name additional global retailers of the year who will also be honored in April.

Read more: IGA Names Retailer of Year Finalists