(Source: Business Wire)CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), a leading provider of financing to small businesses and middle market companies, today released its first podcast based on its new study, "U.S. Small and Middle Market Outlook 2009: Retailers and Suppliers Take Stock of Economic Downturn." The podcast is featured on 5 Minute Capital (www.5minutecapital.com), a series of 5-minute podcasts featuring senior CIT executives commenting on current market conditions and trends in the middle market.

In this installment, Jon Lucas, Chief Sales Officer and Executive Vice President of CIT Trade Finance, provides his perspective on how retail suppliers have been affected by the economic downturn. He comments, "The suppliers that sell into retail channels of distribution are experiencing difficulties. Since retailers have reduced their inventories, vendors that sell product to retailers are seeing fewer orders. At the same time, the price/value equation is being rewritten, and suppliers are working to manufacture a quality product at price points that are salable in the market today."

In discussing how vendors will adapt to the new retail environment, Lucas adds, "I think both on the supplier side and the retail side you need to reinvent yourself everyday. You are going to see the vendors trying to reinvent themselves and bring different product with lower prices to market. It's going to be an interesting several quarters where conservative, cautious projections are in order."

Middle market companies, a key component of the U.S. economy, account for more than $6 trillion in sales and employ almost 32 million Americans. U.S. small businesses employ nearly 59 million Americans (approximately half of all private-sector jobs), constitute approximately 97% of all identified exporters, and produce approximately 29% of the known export value.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Complimentary copies of the report are available for download at http://middlemarket.cit.com.

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About the Report

The information in the U.S. Small and Middle Market Outlook 2009: Retailers and Suppliers Take Stock of Economic Downturn is based on the results of two surveys and a series of one-on-one interviews conducted by Forbes Insights in July and August 2009.

The first survey questioned 110 executives and financial decision makers at middle market retailers. All companies had revenues of $25 million to $1 billion.