CHICAGO — IGA here said slowdowns on package redesigns by some of its smaller vendors have delayed the rollout of the new private-label packaging by approximately three months.
The redesiged packaging — beginning with bread and eggs — is scheduled to be available in late July, Dave Bennett, senior vice president, procurement and private label, for IGA USA, said yesterday, "and once these products hit the shelves, there will be a constant flow of newly designed IGA brand products for your store."
When the new design was announced last November, the rollout was scheduled to begin in early 2009. The new design features the IGA white-on-red logo near the top of each package against a red background that says, "Hometown Proud Since 1926"; the rest of the package label is white, with a photo of the product and the name of the item in a contemporary font style.
In a letter to IGA retailers on the company's website, Bennett said the redesign effort has the company's full attention. "[But] whereas a large chain retailer ... would have one or two vendors to cover the U.S., our licensed distribution centers are working hard to minimize your cost of goods by selecting vendors with closer distribution points. While this is certainly a beneficial plan, it is negatively impacting the redesign effort [because] most of these vendors have volume too small to support easy approval of the redesign process and, needless to say, the time required is far exceeding our expectations."
Bennett said IGA is developing a tracking system that will enable IGA retailers to keep track of the redesign process and see the actual package images as they are completed.
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