Orlando, FL (March 6, 2007)—The 2007 Retail Best Practices Awards were awarded at the 11^th Annual Retail Conference "The Marketing of Magazines and Books" in Orlando, FL, which kicked off March 4 and closes today. The awards, currently in its sixth year, honor retailers for excellence in book and magazine merchandising, and is given by Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) and International Periodical Distributors Association (IPDA).

H-E-B Grocery Company was awarded a Best Practices Award for outstanding performance in checkout merchandising. H-E-B was recognized for its aggressive coverage of all checkout opportunities for the magazine/book category, consistent rack maintenance, and its strategy to display magazines with beverage coolers.

In the promotion/cross-merchandising category, Wegmans was the Best Practices Award recipient, for implementing and supporting creative cross-merchandising opportunities across various departments, and for having a definitive cross-merchandising and promotion calendar

Safeway received a Best Practices Award for excellence in mainline merchandising. A leader in its field, Safeways heavy redesign of its stores to focus on "Lifestyles" has led to the creation of a new reading center, featuring overhead posters, clamshells, traditional shelving, as well as feature towers and spinners.

Finally, "Book Retailer of the Year" went to The Kroger Company, for its commitment to books, strategy, boldness and ability to connect with consumers. Their clear and colorful store signage communicates the tremendous value of mass market paperbacks to consumers, elevating the category and generating strong sales.

Beginning this year, all the winning retail companies were each awarded $2,000 to donate to the charity of their choice.

Retail Conference 2007, attended by nearly 600 magazine and book publishers, wholesalers, distributors, suppliers and retailers, provided a forum for discussing the challenges facing every segment of the single copy sales chain. For more information on Retail Conference, visit www.magazine.org/retailconference.