Retail Beat

• Safeway exec: Sector should study supply chain for human trafficking
  Supermarkets need to take an industrywide look at the supply chain to find suppliers that use improper labor practices, including human trafficking, says Carl Graziani, Safeway's senior vice president for supply chain. "As an industry, we need to think about how we can do this collectively," he said at the Supply Chain Conference. "Individually, it's a monumental task." Safeway is among supermarkets required by California to disclose efforts to eliminate human trafficking within their supply chain. Graziani suggests an industrywide method of information sharing to make the task easier. Supermarket News (free registration) (2/15)     

• Laurel Grocery taps president in planned succession
  David Pearson has been named president of Laurel Grocery. Pearson joined the company in 2011 and is the planned successor to Dennis Butler, who will become president of sister company Retail Marketing. Supermarket News (free registration) (2/15)     

• Revamped Big Y World Class Market reopens
  A World Class Market store in West Hartford, Conn., has reopened after several weeks of renovation. The bakery has become strictly kosher, while the meat department and deli are glatt kosher, as owner Big Y Foods looks to meet the needs of Orthodox Jews. Progressive Grocer (2/15)     

Trend-Spotter

• E-commerce sales tax bill gets support from retail groups
  Federal legislation that would let states collect sales tax from online vendors has earned support from FMI and other retail associations. "Inequities in Internet commerce are already taking a big bite out of neighborhood supermarkets, state coffers and employment in local communities because online retailers aren't required to collect sales tax," said Jennifer Hatcher, FMI's senior vice president of government and public affairs. Supermarket News (free registration) (2/15)     

• Study finds large marketing opportunity in Hispanic men
  Marketers targeting Hispanic women might be missing their key market, according to Mintel research. A study found that Hispanic men tend to have greater influence on purchases made by their household as they get older, and the market for younger men who will grow into that role has remained untapped. "By failing to reach out to Hispanic men, brands and retailers will miss out on the chance to establish themselves as the first choice among a segment of shoppers poised to gain great influence in the coming years," said Leylha Ahuile, a senior multicultural analyst at Mintel. Convenience Store News (2/15)     

Health, Nutrition & Pharmacy

• Study: Diabetes management has improved but could be better
  More than half of people with any type of diabetes meet or exceed at least one of three measures of good diabetes management, and 19% manage all three successfully, according to a study. The research has generated mixed feedback from health experts; it shows marked improvement compared with 1988, but there is much room for growth. "I see these findings as the glass is half full and half empty," said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center. "With so much more awareness of diabetes and with newer medications, it's very disappointing to see only 19% with good management." HealthDay News (2/15)     

Supplier News

• AHA certifies Planters peanuts as heart healthy
  Planters' unsalted and lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts have received the Heart-Check mark from the American Heart Association. "While many of our Planters dry-roasted peanuts have always been heart healthy, we are now recognized by a respected and well-known authority committed to heart health," said Peter Cotter, senior brand manager for the Kraft Foods Group division. Progressive Grocer (2/15)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by FMI dailyLead® readers in the past week.

• Publix launches online coupon system (The Tampa Tribune (Fla.))

• ShopRite tests department rearrangement (Supermarket News (free registration))

• Whole Foods expects wide-appeal effort to hit bottom line (The Wall Street Journal)

• Meijer plans to build 6 supercenters in 2013 (Progressive Grocer)

• More shoppers are buying groceries online (Progressive Grocer)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

FMI Spotlight

• Gold Plate Award launches with FMI site on family meals
  Open at Let's Put Our Plates Together is the first-ever Gold Plate Award, a program geared toward celebrating retailers with outstanding commitment to improving the health and wellness of customers. To learn more about the program and to get retailer tools, visit FMIFamilyMeals.com.     

Global Update

• Morrison will add C-stores at former Blockbuster spots
  U.K. supermarket chain Wm Morrison Supermarkets has acquired 49 former Blockbuster stores, with a plan to open M-local locations. The company aims to expand the 12-store convenience chain to 70 locations by year-end. "The convenience market is growing as more people shop locally, and we want to be in a position to take advantage of this," Managing Director Gordon Mowat said. The Guardian (London)/The Press Association (U.K.) (2/17)     

Daily Quote

Paradise is here or nowhere: you must take your joy with you or you will never find it." --Orison Swett Marden, American author