Pacific Sunwear March same-store sales fall 8 percent

(Reuters) - Pacific Sunwear of California Inc (PSUN.O) reported a wider-than-expected fall in March same-store sales as an early Easter failed to draw shoppers to the surfing-inspired apparel retailer's stores.

The retailer's March same-store sales fell 8 percent while Wall Street analysts had expected a decline of 1.5 percent.

Total sales from the company's PacSun division for the five weeks of fiscal March ended April 5 fell 8 percent to $115.3 million from the year-ago period.

"We experienced significant weekly sales volatility due to Easter being two weeks earlier this year than last year," PacSun CFO Michael Henry CFO said in a pre-recorded call.

Easter fell on March 23 this year compared with April 8 last year making it the earliest Easter since 1913, according to the National Retail Federation.

Though Easter usually boosts retail sales, an early Easter and a much colder March also means people are not as likely to buy spring wear, which is traditionally tied to holiday shopping in April.

Geographically, comparable-store sales were strongest in Texas and weakest in the desert southwest, California and Florida, Henry said.

Apparel sales drove a 4 percent comparable-store sales increase in the month and accounted for 78 percent of total same-store sales.

The company, which has been trying to focus on its apparel business than its offerings of footwear and accessories lately, witnessed increased demand for denims, tops and dresses.

However, the strength in these categories were offset by a fall in demand for seasonal apparel including shorts and swimwear.

The company, which began liquidation sales in its 153 demo stores in February, said it will report demo as a discontinued operation in quarterly filings beginning with the first quarter of fiscal 2008.

Total March sales from these demo liquidation stores were $13.4 million.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)