GNC 2009 Annual Report Download - page 48

Table of Contents
The following information may contain financial measures other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and
should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for our historical consolidated financial statements. In addition, the adjusted
combined operating results may not reflect the actual results we would have achieved absent the adjustments and may not be predictive of
future results of operations. We present this information because we use it to monitor and evaluate our ongoing operating results and trends,
and believe it provides investors with an understanding of our operating performance over comparative periods.
As discussed in the "Segment" note to our consolidated financial statements, we evaluate segment operating results based on several
indicators. The primary key performance indicators are revenues and operating income or loss for each segment. Revenues and operating
income or loss, as evaluated by management, exclude certain items that are managed at the consolidated level, such as warehousing and
transportation costs, impairments, and other corporate costs. The following discussion compares the revenues and the operating income or loss
by segment, as well as those items excluded from the segment totals.
Same store sales growth reflects the percentage change in same store sales in the period presented compared to the prior year period.
Same store sales are calculated on a daily basis for each store and exclude the net sales of a store for any period if the store was not open
during the same period of the prior year. Beginning in the first quarter of 2006, we also included our internet sales, as generated through
www.gnc.com and www.drugstore.com, in our domestic company-owned same store sales calculation. When a store's square footage has
been changed as a result of reconfiguration or relocation in the same mall or shopping center, the store continues to be treated as a same
store. If, during the period presented, a store was closed, relocated to a different mall or shopping center, or converted to a franchised store or
a company-owned store, sales from that store up to and including the closing day or the day immediately preceding the relocation or conversion
are included as same store sales as long as the store was open during the same period of the prior year. We exclude from the calculation sales
during the period presented from the date of relocation to a different mall or shopping center and from the date of a conversion. In the second
quarter of 2006, we modified the calculation method for domestic franchised same store sales consistent with this description, which has been
the method historically used for domestic company-owned same store sales.
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