Retailers Optimistic About Business in 2010
by Shopping Centers Today
Seven of 10 retail executives in a KPMG survey say they expect business conditions will improve next year. The survey of 65 executives was conducted between May and July.
“The findings reflected an expression of guarded optimism among retail executives, given the industry’s challenges as demand for goods continued to plummet during the recession,” said Mark Larson, who heads KPMG’s global retail sector group. “Their optimism is in sharp contrast even with the latest report from the Commerce Department, which revealed last week that retail sales dropped in July — despite evidence that the economy has stopped contracting and that economists were forecasting a gain in sales."
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Chain Stores See Rare Uptick
Smart Brief ICSC/Commercial Property Executive
by Jerilynn Kraus, Stacy Staczynski & Alex Palmer
U.S. chain store sales in September increased 0.1 percent on a same-store basis compared with the same period last year, representing the strongest reading since July 2008, when sales increased 3.3 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
"Small as that gain was, it was the first year-over-year increase since July 2008 and marked a significant turning point for the industry, as well as the start of the retail recovery," Michael P. Niemera, ICSC Chief Economist and Director of Research, said in a statement. "To be sure, the retail recovery will be uneven, and growth will be in spurts and fits, but it seems increasingly clear that it is recovery.
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