The 2007 directory also highlights the most active retail categories,or those which Trade Dimensions expects will open the greatest number of new locations by 2011, based on research and analysis, including direct contact with many of the country's leading chains. Fast food restaurants will open over 13,000 new locations, easily topping the category in second place: women's apparel, which will see just half of that number. Nearly 6,100 new fast casual restaurants will open, while just over 6,000 new coffee/juice bars will see the light of day. The restaurant category (which includes all restaurant chains not classified as fast food or fast casual) closes out the top five and Trade Dimensions anticipates over 5,800 new restaurant chain locations by 2011.
Encapsulating 80 different classes of retail trade - everything from supermarkets and discount stores to nutrition shops and movie theaters - the directory makes it easy for real estate, development and leasing professionals to find leads, target prospects and close deals. Every leading U.S. retailer is featured in its own company profile, which includes all current site selection criteria: preferred store size, locations considered, number of new units planned, minimum frontage required, tenant mix, demographic requirements, lease terms and more.
The directory also features the exclusive Retail Industry Overview, in which Trade Dimensions ranks specific retailers by the total amount of
current retail space occupied and the total amount of new retail space planned. Four companies appear in the top ten of both rankings: Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's and J.C. Penney. Together the four companies occupy a staggering 1.08 billion square feet of retail space in North America, and plan to open an additional 150 million square feet over the next five years.
"As the retail industry gets increasingly competitive, many retailers have made changes to their floor plans, debuted new concepts, altered their lease terms, introduced new prototypes or otherwise changed their site criteria. There is no better way for staying on top of these changes than with the Retail Tenant Directory," said Thomas Donato, director of research operations. "The Retail Tenant Directory empowers industry professionals with the information they need before they make that initial contact, so they can speak from an informed point of view. Add to that, contact information for over 23,000 key personnel, and it becomes clear why we are the industry's most respected source."
