Abercrombie & Fitch same-store sales down in June
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co said on Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year fell a worse-than-expected 3 percent in June.
Analysts on average had expected a decrease of 2.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters Estimates.
While same-store sales rose 3 percent at the company's namesake stores, they fell 18 percent at RUEHL stores and declined 8 percent at both the Hollister and abercrombie for kids chains.
Total sales for the five weeks ended July 5 rose 6 percent to $309.7 million.
Graphic T-shirts and swimwear were the weakest categories in the men's business, while sales of knit tops and graphic T-shirts were the most lackluster in the women's unit, the company said in a recorded call.
Abercrombie & Fitch's racy advertising and casual T-shirt and jeans looks have helped create scores of teenage fans. But this year, amid the weak U.S. economy, it has faced lower or tepid same-store sales.
In May, the company stood by its forecast for earnings of $1.61 and $1.65 per share in the first half of its fiscal year.
(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
