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CLEVELAND-A downturn in consumer spending would not drastically impact the retail-REIT industry because retailers are still expanding at a rapid rate, and there are still many development opportunities throughout the country, said Developers Diversified Realty executives during their second-quarter conference call.

"Far more than the health of the consumer are the available sales in the market and what [retailers] think they can get in terms of those sales," says Scott Wolstein, DDR's chairman and chief executive officer. "What people don't understand is that there are a lot of sales to be had."

Wolstein points to retailers like Wal-Mart and Target that have major annual expansion plans as evidence. He also says that major consolidations and store closings in the department- and grocery-store sectors have cleared the way for different types of retailers to open new doors.