Why Retailers Don’t Measure Up

Like-for-like sales, or “comp” sales as they’re known in the U.S., are still the benchmark for comparing the performance of retailers. But as companies update the market on the crucial Christmas and new year trading period, it’s clearer than ever that this is a measurement that doesn’t fit the needs of investors.Like-for-like revenues are sales from stores open at least 12 months, compared with their equivalent in the year earlier.The term harks back to the heady days of the 1980s when retailers were opening stores like it was going out of fashion. Then, like-for-like sales gave investors a feel for how the existing store estate was trading, without all that flattery from new space. Read more at Bloomberg.