ao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, is an upscale cosmopolitan city of 500,000, but its residents are still "Hometown Proud" of their Mercado Ema IGA. When he bought the store in 1999, Gerson Spaziani remodeled it to evoke the feeling of an open-air market that was once the center of town. Portions of the selling floor use low shelving and wide tables, so shoppers can see across the store, like in the open market. Pictures from the 1940s have been blown up and turned into murals lining the walls.

"We went to the library and looked at the city's first market. We reconstructed that store and rebuilt the front to be a copy of the 1940s market," Spaziani says. "When we re-opened as an IGA and shoppers saw the old pictures, some cried."

The store sets itself apart from nearby Carrefour, Se and Wal-Mart stores by having a central kitchen, where customers can sample dishes and buy all the ingredients in one place. Flowers from the floral department are merchandised throughout the store to add color. The bakery department specializes in local pastries and breads.

IGA helps Mercado Ema with the philosophy and strategy of being community-oriented. A training brochure from Newport Service Plus+ IGA in Newport, Ky., was translated in Portuguese to teach the staff about customer service, employee relations and basic store operations. Mercado Ema supports children's rights as part of its community outreach program.