WERE advertisements rather than sales the yardstick, Apple would have dominated the computer industry for decades.
They also used closed sales, not signed contracts, as their yardstick.
Wal-Mart's domestic sales at existing stores, a crucial yardstick in retailing, have been flagging for years, and Wall Street is losing its patience.
"By the most important yardstick, based on the sales currency of C3 ratings, we're the network leader," Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC Entertainment, said in an e-mail message.
"It also includes the Internet, small independent stores and stores that might not report comp-store sales," she said, referring to the industry yardstick that compares this year's sales to last year's in stores open at least a year.
Consulting firms such as Marakon and Monitor tell bosses to pick just a few yardsticks, such as likely future sales of a key product.
But when the yardstick is the same month last year, November's sales of existing homes were down 27.9percentt from last year, and sales of new homes were down 21.2percentt.
Perhaps our favorite piece of DIY decor, this incredibly cute Christmas star comes together in a few minutes, using about $5 worth of supplies mostly yardsticks on sale at Lowe's.
By this yardstick, America's bankruptcy industry could book sales of $6 billion this year.In return for what?
Sales at stores open a year or more, the yardstick used in the retail industry, were down 14percentt in the quarter that ended July 31.
