McDonald's performed strongly in other markets, reflecting its steady recovery from a sharp sales downturn in 2002.
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But why do firms believe they can get away with sharp sales practices?
The department store has struggled with mounting losses and sharp sales declines since early last year after shoppers were turned off by a new strategy that eliminated most sales in favor of lower prices every day.
Sharp said sales of LCD TVs "fell drastically" on a year ago, mainly as a result of "sluggish demand in Japan and a sales decline in China, owing to worsening Japan-China relations".
Next is that the firm's sharp-elbowed sales tactics could come back to haunt it.
Fast Retailing, the firm behind budget fashion brand Uniqlo recently posted a sharp fall in sales.
In fiscal year 2011, NEOG recorded sharp increases in sales of its test kits to detect dairy antibiotic residues.
In July, Sony Ericsson cited sharp feature phone sales declines, contributing to a surprise handset volume miss of roughly 20%.
In my career as a retailer, or as an analyst, I have never seen such a sharp drop in sales in just one year.
Ford last week announced it would close two plants in the UK and one in Belgium following a sharp fall in sales in the region.
But by 2004 the group announced a sharp rise in sales in response to the introduction of healthier options, focused on increased use of chicken and fruit.
Big music companies like Vivendi's Universal Music Group, Sony-BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Group are already experiencing a sharp decline in sales of compact discs.
Big music companies like Vivendi's Universal Music Group, Sony-BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group (nyse: WMG - news - people ) and EMI Group are already experiencing a sharp decline in sales of compact discs.
Earlier this month, the company reported a sharp fall in sales for the Christmas period, with like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of shop closures, down by 8.1% in the five weeks to the end of December.
Peugeot and Toyota were the worst affected manufacturers, with sales falling more than 16% from a year earlier, Volkswagen also suffered a sharp drop, with sales down 15% and the US carmaker General Motors saw sales fall by 12.8%.
Other carmakers such as Mitsubishi Motors and Mazda have also reported a sharp drop in Chinese sales.
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Last week, John Lewis also reported a sharp rise in Christmas sales.
In sharp contrast, international sales rose 14.8% over the same period.
One early warning sign is a sharp recent drop in sales of trucks which, reflecting the need to move things about the country, are particularly sensitive to changes in demand.
Primary examples: gains from investments and asset sales, sharp declines in tax rates, overly optimistic assumptions on pension plan returns and heavy reliance on stock options as a form of compensation.
It had many economists worried about a double-dip back into recession, especially after economic reports for July and August, the first two months of the third quarter, showed sharp declines in auto sales, home sales, and consumer and business confidence.
In the case of DAO and ME2 the sales figures show a sharp rise several weeks in, which can only have come from word of mouth sales.
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Consumers are putting jugs of tap water into their refrigerators, and Pepsi notes a sharp decline in bottled water sales.
The sharp decline in iPhone 4S sales could inspire Apple to bring the iPhone 5 to China much sooner than anticipated.
"As a result of adverse publicity from the poultry supply situation in mid-December, China KFC sales experienced a sharp decline, " David Novak, chief executive of Yum said in a statement.
But he points to the sharp slowing of American car sales in September after the cash-for-clunkers programme ended and thinks the same may occur in housing when a subsidy to first-time buyers expires at the end of November.
Among the top 100, notable beneficiaries of leaner and meaner strategies include electronics manufacturers Matsushita Electric (profits up 636% on sales down 4.5%) and Sharp Corp. (No. 54, profits up fivefold on sales up 6.3%).
The financial meltdown, which has choked off credit to car buyers and dealers, has resulted in a sharp slowdown in already weak industry sales.
On closer inspection, consumer spending is already less robust than it appears: April's rise in retail sales was offset by sharp downward revisions in February and March.
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