Gap quarterly sales stumble

NEW YORK: Apparel retailer Gap Inc reported quarterly same-store sales that missed analysts´ estimates as its namesake brand struggled to clear excess inventory in a quarter marred by an unusually long winter.

Shares of the company, which also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic, fell 8 percent in extended trading after the company´s first-quarter profit fell well below expectations.

The results signaled that the company is still some way away from reviving the Gap brand, which has struggled to keep pace with fast-fashion rivals such as H&M and Forever 21 and tackle the dominance of Amazon.com.

Though Chief Executive Officer Art Peck has pushed hard to bring styles to stores faster like fast-fashion chains, the company has failed to capture the imagination of shoppers like it had done a decade ago.

Peck fired GAP brand President Jeff Kirwan earlier this year for poor operating performance and is yet to find a permanent replacement. "The quarter did present some challenges.

Some are largely expected like the Gap brand operating issues, and others were less predictable, like the unseasonably cold and snowy weather," Chief Financial Officer Teri List-Stoll saidSales at Gap branded stores open for at least a year sunk 4 percent, widely missing analysts expectations of a 0.4 percent drop, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.