Second quarter results from the Professional Beauty Association's (PBA) Quarterly Distributor Benchmarking Survey are out and highly positive for reporting companies and the industry as a whole. A majority of reporting distributors, which increased since the survey was launched in the first quarter of 2012, reported higher sales, added at least one new line to their portfolio, and increased staff. "The PBA Distributor Benchmarking report shows that even in a stagnant economy, professional distribution is dynamic and growing in the beauty industry," said Steve Neumaier, president of Goldwell New York and chair of the PBA task force charged with managing this research effort. The Quarterly Distributor Benchmarking Survey includes information on five primary business sections: sales, product lines, stores, employees and education. The survey is designed to provide beauty industry distributors of all sizes with valuable data they can use to help benchmark their organization against others and be a useful tool in making important business decisions. Providing both quantitative and qualitative data, the PBA Quarterly Distributor Benchmarking Survey offers real-world information distributors need to succeed in today's changing and challenging business environment. Highlights from the Second Quarter 2012 PBA Quarterly Distributor Benchmarking Survey: 84% of reporting distributors reported higher sales with the median increase being 17.5%. 67% of reporting distributors added at least one new line to their portfolio. A majority of reporting distributors reported adding staff to their organizations. "The Professional Beauty Association continues to provide valuable data to our members so they can better manage their businesses and achieve the success they want and deserve. I am delighted to report that participation in this quarter's survey increased significantly. We welcome other independent beauty distributors to take part in the third quarter survey so they can receive a complimentary version of the survey results," said Elizabeth Fantetti, PBA's director of membership. For more information on this survey, please visit www.probeauty.org.Want to read more? Subscribe to one of our monthly plans to continue reading this article.