Weak Old Navy results hurt Gap April same-store sales

SAN FRANCISCO—Apparel retailer Gap Inc. said Thursday its same-store sales fell 6 percent in April, widely missing analyst expectations, hurt by weak results at Old Navy and international stores.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected combined same-store sales to fall just 1.9 percent.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key measure of retailer performance, because it measures growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.

For the four-week period ended May 3, same-store sales were flat at namesake Gap stores and Banana Republic, down 12 percent at Old Navy and down 7 percent at international stores.

Analysts had predicted declines of just 4.5 percent and 2.7 percent at Old Navy and overseas, respectively, while expecting Banana Republic stores to post a 2.8 percent increase. Gap's North America same-store sales were slightly better than Wall Street's projection for a 1 percent decline.

Total sales rose 1 percent to $1.1 billion from $1.09 billion last year.

For the fiscal first quarter ended May 3, same-store sales fell 11 percent, while total sales fell 5 percent to $3.38 billion. Analysts expected higher sales of $3.45 billion.