Comparing Mong Kok and suburban stores fairly
A 1,800 sq ft Mong Kok unit and a 900 sq ft New Territories shop will rarely sit on the same absolute sales line. Ranking them by total dollars alone trains managers to defend size rather than trading quality.
Sales per open hour and sales per square foot are blunt, but they open a fairer conversation. Add a note on weekday versus weekend mix if one site relies on Saturday traffic while the other leans on weekday office crowds.
When we run multi-store comparison briefings, we ask for opening hours and floor area first. Without those, we refuse to publish a ‘winner’ table that only reflects footprint.
District leads in Hong Kong often inherit stores opened in different decades. Older leases may constrain layout changes; newer sites may have better sightlines. The briefing should name those constraints so underperformance is not treated as personal failure.
Bring one normalised chart and one absolute chart to the same meeting. Absolute numbers still matter for cash planning; normalised figures matter for coaching.