Matalan, which is based in Skelmersdale, west Lancashire, and has more than 150 stores, said that, for the five weeks to 11 January, like-for-like sales rose 1% compared with 13.1% in the previous year.
For the January to March quarter, like-for-like food sales were up 2.5% compared with a year ago, while non-food sales rose 1.9%.
The effect is already showing: Sephora's like-for-like sales are growing by 11% a year, compared with around 3.5% for cosmetics sales in department stores.
For instance, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said that like-for-like retail sales in January rose 1.9% compared with January 2012 - the biggest rise in more than a year.
Today's Alvin Ailey dancers dance like superhumans compared with 1992 Ailey.
While Intel holds an monstrous lead in terms of market share in the PC semiconductor market (with around 80% of market share, compared with something like 10% for AMD, number two in market share), the company runs from behind in the mobile and tablet universe.
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General Growth's overhead costs are 3.6% of revenue, compared with tonier operations like Rouse, at 4.8%.
But compared with cool endpoints like the iPhone and iPad, infrastructure is pretty dry stuff.
But they're still like small children compared with the vast scope of human ability.
That looks like almost nothing compared with the double-digit growth that comes with a single big drug.
It's nothing compared with startup companies like Plumtree, which, given the tight job market, are typically staffed up by friends or acquaintances.
"It's like a stepchild compared with other viruses, " Jansen says.
Yet although they remain tiny compared with Chinese giants like ICBC and China Construction Bank, there is often more than a whiff of Beijing about the Indian state lenders.
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Sagnier who is often compared with screen sirens like Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve, drew international acclaim for a series of films in 2002 and 2003, but has recently has been taking smaller roles.
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Both look like strong contenders compared with Donald Trump, a self-promoting businessman and television star who says he is considering joining the race because no other candidate has even a fraction of his talent.
Schwartz and Feinsod, who are also dealing with the Vincent Jackson situation with the Chargers, felt that dealing with the Jets was like a day at the beach compared to their non-negotiations with the Chargers.
It seems like a minor issue compared with tailpipe emissions or pesticide exposure.
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While tourism in the Philippines remains a trickle compared with Southeast Asian brethren like Thailand and Vietnam, and air links to western Mindoro are still infrequent, you should consider visiting now to experience the full effect of Apo Reef's untouched magnetism.
Compared with bonds, stocks act like doggy playthings but in the long run outperform bonds.
But both look cheap compared with consumer-service companies like McDonald's, which sells at 28 times forecast earnings.
Only one out of every 300, 000 JetBlue passengers files a complaint for overbooking, baggage mishandling or other customer service problems, compared with three for big carriers like Continental and US Airways, according to federal data.
One week prior to the summit, Jairam Ramesh, member and minister of state for environment and forests, told India's Parliament that the country should plan to reduce the ratio of pollution to production by 20% to 25% compared with 2005 levels, but like China, not accept a legally binding emissions reduction target.
But they are beginning to look stretched with all important tablets like the 8.0 and 3.0 making little impact, compared with the S4, on a news environment that is busy with Apple rumors as we move closer to an iPhone 5S launch.
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And their stocks are cheap, at least compared with the stocks of overheated markets like ours.
Changing a reporting relationship between a manager and staffer takes 3 clicks in Workday, compared with 25 in a traditional system like PeopleSoft.
Even the untrained eye can discern the fakes' inferiority compared with watches built by British masters like Thomas Tompion, George Graham, and Thomas Mudge.
Tough as German reunification has been, it will look like a walk in the park compared with the task of trying to suture one of the world's most backward economies onto one of the world's most advanced.
"It was the first phone with a really good mobile Web browser, and we saw five times the average usage of things like Google Maps and YouTube" compared with online habits, says Vic Gundotra, Google's head of mobile developer relations.
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