>Wal-Mart claims they are behind the average but their sales are up 11%.
The standard comparison used in the retail biz is same-store (aka comparable-store) sales - i.e., stores that have been open a year or more. Comp sales are seen as a better measure of underlying performance, and Wal-Mart has been lagging the averages there. Their sales growth is driven by expansion. As recently as 2003, Wal-Mart was ahead of the industry average in comp sales (4.1% vs. 3.4%, on the International Council of Shopping Centers measure); in February 2005, Wal-Mart lagged (4.1% for WMT and 4.9% for the industry). Family Dollar, by the way, matched the average in Feb (4.9%), though it lagged in 2004.
Doug