Like for like

Like for like measures whether the existing estate is selling more, by comparing only those stores trading in both the current and prior period. It is the first number to look for in any retail or consumer result.

The reason is that total revenue growth conflates two very different things. Growth from opening stores requires capital and stops when good sites run out; growth from existing stores requires neither and deserves a higher multiple.

Split it further into price and volume. Four percent like for like made of three points of price and one of volume, in a year of three percent inflation, means the business sold no more goods to no more people. Volume led growth is the real thing.

Definitions vary between companies, particularly on when a refurbished store re enters the base and how online sales are allocated, so the basis needs checking before comparing two retailers.