In Brief: IGA secures show sponsorship deal

SUPERMARKET group IGA has secured the naming rights for the Royal Agricultural Society of WA’s 2008 Perth Royal Show. The society’s CEO, Martin Molony, said the partnership with IGA was an important initiative for the Perth Royal show because of its mutual commitment to Western Australian primary industry. Mr Molony said IGA’s network of local producers would be a highly visible and important presence at this year’s event. “We view this partnership as an opportunity for more local producers to participate and display their products to the 400,000 people who visit Perth’s biggest community event,” he said. IGA’s WA general manager, Silvestro Morabito, said the group’s independent grocers, as small business owners, were fully supportive of the sponsorship arrangement. This year, the event will be known as the IGA Perth Royal Show, with IGA also sponsoring the Fresh Food Pavilion, the Follow the Yellow Brick Road educational walking trail, and the nightly fireworks display. The independent grocers’ supermarket chain is operated by ASX-listed Metcash Ltd and has 212 stores in WA, 80 of these in rural areas. IGA is celebrating only its second anniversary in WA this month. According to Metcash figures from November 2007, IGA’s share of WA’s supermarket sector is only slightly behind Coles’, with Woolworths leading.