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The retail store fixture industry finished 2010 stronger than expected, according to the Assn. for Retail Environments semi-annual Revenue Trends Survey. Klein Merriman, ARE's executive director, reported that the survey indicates the industry sales grew 15 percent in 2010, and respondents project an additional 15 percent gain for 2011.
"We still have a long way to go," says ARE president Bob Riley, also president of DSA/Phototech. "Fully 60 percent of the respondents indicated it would be 2012 or later until they will be back to their 2007 sales level."
Sales in late 2010 improved more rapidly than many expected. Participants in ARE's September 2010 survey predicted that sales would increase only 9.5 percent in 2010 and 10 percent in 2011. The March estimates are higher, with the projection for a 15 percent increase for both 2010 and 2011. Point-of-purchase, visual merchandising, store fixturing and retail design firms all reported growth in 2010 and are projecting more growth in 2011. While 19 percent of respondents experienced a decline in sales in 2010, only 5 percent expect a decline in 2011.