Retailers to Open 94,000 + New Locations by 2011

Wilton, CT, March 21, 2007--America's leading retailers will open over 94,000 new store locations over the next five years, according to the 2007 Retail Tenant Directory, released today by Nielsen Trade Dimensions, a business service of The Nielsen Company.

The new edition includes detailed profiles of over 5,400 active U.S. retailers planning over 94,000 new locations over the next five years, which equates to over 94,000 new leasing and building opportunities for real estate professionals.

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.

Available in three distinct formats -- book, CD and online -- the Retail Tenant Directory is easy to use and completely searchable. Users can find leads in five easy ways: by company, by area(s) of expansion, by store size (in square feet), by operating name and by parent company. Because the directory also includes the names and titles of over 23,000 top decision- makers, the best prospects are literally just a phone call (or an e-mail) away.

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."

All information in the 2007 Retail Tenant Directory is completely updated, revised and 100% verified by Trade Dimensions' research staff. The 5,400 chains included in the directory represent nearly 7,000 distinct operating names (DBAs). Our experts track close to 10,000 chains throughout the year, but include only the most viable leasing prospects. We are also careful to include only those companies for which we were able to verify updated, accurate information, which guarantees high quality.