WRAPUP 2-Inventory, merchandise rule apparel retailer results

* Children's Place, Casual Male top est, raise FY view

* Buckle misses consensus

* Discounts, merchandise-mix drive results

* Casual Male up 11 pct, Children's Place up 6 (Recasts; adds analyst comment, details, updates share moves)

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee

BANGALORE, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Fashion, discount and inventory management remain key for U.S. apparel companies posting quarterly results as they prepare for rising costs and a brittle consumer spending environment.

On Thursday, Children's Place Retail Stores Inc (PLCE.O) and Casual Male Retail Group Inc (CMRG.O) both beat estimates and raised their full-year earnings views on well-managed inventories and fresh merchandise. [ID:nSGE67I0FC] [ID:nSGE67I0DX]

"Children's Place is on a much better start to the back-to- school season ... on much more proactive marketing and as they focus on key items like graphic tees, denims, uniform," analyst Margaret Whitfield of Sterne, Agee & Leach said.

Rival Gymboree Corp GYMB.O, which posted results Wednesday night, spoke of a slower start to the back-to-season despite beating quarterly earnings estimates. [ID:nASA00O7B]

The back-to-school season, which runs from July through early September, is the second-biggest shopping period in the United States after the holiday season in November and December.

Though sales this year are expected to improve slightly, consumers are still jittery and value-driven, and concerns of a renewed dip in spending is prompting companies to keep discounting.

Still, discounting in children's apparel is nowhere near the levels faced by teen retailers, analyst Whitfield said.

Clothes companies, most of which post results this week and the next, face a tough choice as they try to balance rising input costs with discounts to lure customers. [ID:nSGE6720LA]

For many specialty apparel retailers, which have often been criticized for the sameness of their products, pricing is a way to draw in shoppers.

"I think this year everybody has more or less the same fits and washes, so it's not about the product, but about the price and the value message that the consumer is responding to. It's a very price sensitive season," Whitfield said.

BEING DIFFERENT

However, companies like Urban Outfitters Inc (URBN.O) have shown that products that stand out, can coax shoppers to spend a little more and boost sales and margins in the process. Others like Hot Topic Inc (HOTT.O) and Buckle Inc (BKE.N) have suffered for a lack of compelling merchandise.

Men's apparel retailer Casual Male posted its first quarterly increase in same-store sales in eight quarters, helped by tight control over inventories that reduced the need for mark-downs.

On the other hand, teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N) beat estimates, but concerns on rising inventories and too much discounting dragged shares down. [ID:nSGE67G0D8]

Also on Thursday, Kearney, Nebraska-based Buckle saw same-store sales drop 7.3 percent during the quarter, and it was among the weakest performers when companies posted their July sales numbers. [ID:nSGE67I0E9]

Shares of Children's Place, which were up 6 percent at $44.73 Thursday on Nasdaq, are now down about 9 percent from their April high, outperforming the larger S&P 1500 Apparel Retail Sub-Industry Index .15GSPRETA, which has fallen 23 percent in the same period.

Casual Male was trading up 11 percent at $3.01 on Nasdaq, while Buckle was down 4 percent at $24.93 on the New York Stock Exchange. Both stocks have underperformed the wider index since April. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore, additional reporting by Abhishek Takle, Shobhana Chadha; Editing by Anthony Kurian)