Talbots lowers forecast

Talbots Inc. revised its first quarter earnings outlook downward because of "significantly weaker than expected" April sales that partly resulted from bad weather and a lackluster response to its casual merchandise.

The Hingham apparel retailer, which is primarily known for its classic style of clothing for middle-aged women, said today that it now expects earnings for the quarter ending May 5 to be in the range of 7 to 11 cents a share, compared with its previously announced expectation of 36 to 43 cents a share.

For the first quarter, sales at stores open at least a year are expected to be "negative low to mid single digits," the company said.

"Beginning on April 4, we started seeing a dramatic decline in our regular-price sales trends, which then continued throughout the month," Arnold B. Zetcher, Talbots chairman, president, and chief executive, said in a statement. "We believe this was driven by a combination of factors, including adverse weather in the first few weeks of the period, the impact of the Easter shift, and a much weaker than anticipated customer response primarily to our casual merchandise."

Talbots also sells clothing under the J. Jill brand name.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)