IGA has opened its first grocery store on the island of Guam in Chalan Pago. Owned by Cost U Less, a division of Winnipeg, Manitoba-based The North West Co. Inc., the new Island Fresh IGA is company’s first IGA supermarket and is serviced by IGA Licensed Distribution Center Supervalu’s Tacoma, Wash., facility.

The store, formerly known as Hita Supermarket, was purchased by The North West Co. in late 2007, during which time the company has invested $3 million to upgrade the 25,000-square-foot facility that features 13,000-square-feet of retail space.

Offering a complete shopping experience with full-service deli, bakery, meat and produce departments and a full line of IGA Private Brand products and consumer package goods, Island Fresh IGA also features an international aisle with an expanded assortment of Asian and local Island foods.

“We are so pleased to join together with The North West Company to bring the IGA Brand to Guam,” said IGA Global CEO Tom Haggai.

Ben Piatt, VP/procurement and marketing for The North West Co. concurs that the new relationship with IGA is a great fit. “Together we share a long tradition of working to enrich the everyday lives of our customers and enhance the communities in which they live,” said Piatt. “Island Fresh IGA will live up to the IGA name and be the leading shopping destination in its market by consistently providing the helpful, friendly service and unwavering Hometown Proud community support that is the hallmark of the IGA Brand.”

In addition to its newest IGA store, The North West Co. operates 223 stores under the trading names Northern, NorthMart, Giant Tiger, AC Value Center, Cost-U-Less in rural communities and urban neighborhoods in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean.

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