- Home
- Overview
- Business review
- Corporate governance
- Financial statements
- Shareholder information
Key performance indicators
Like for like sales growth
Like for like sales growth is key in determining store profitability. Over time, above industry like for like sales growth drives superior sales per store, central to achieving above average operating margins. Like for like sales growth is driven by factors external to the Group such as the:
- level of consumer confidence, which is significantly influenced by changes in the employment market;
- size and growth of the jewellery market;
- competition within the sector;
and the execution of the basic retail disciplines of:
- store operations, in particular customer service;
- merchandising and supply chain management;
- marketing;
- real estate management; and
- in the US, provision of credit.
5 year compound annual growth 3.3%
Target: Like for like per annum sales growth of mid-single digits over the economic cycle. While the current challenging trading conditions persist the like for like sales performance is likely to be below the target level.
Definition: Annual percentage increase in sales from stores that have been opened for more than 12 months.
Performance: The five year compound growth in like for like sales of 3.3% was just below target as a result of the performance in 2007/08 which reflected challenging trading conditions, particularly in the fourth quarter.