Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz posted an unexpected 3 per cent drop in sales at established stores in October, blaming the economic conditions in some of its major markets.
Total sales were up 7 per cent, but analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 5.1 per cent rise in sales in established stores and a 14.9 per cent rise in total sales.
"The continued recession affected sales differently across H&M's markets," the company said today.
"Sales in Scandinavia, Central Europe and Asia were very satisfactory, while most other markets, primarily France, Spain and the US, had a continued weak sales development."
"It was a weak development in October, disappointing," said Soren Lontoft Hansen, analyst at Sydbank.
"We have seen some weak numbers in August and September due to the warm weather, so we were hoping for a better sales development in October due to a cooler climate and due to an easier comparable basis."
The strong forecasts were based in part on figures published by retail associations in Germany - H&M's biggest market - and Sweden, the third largest.
In Germany, H&M's largest market, apparel sales jumped 12 per cent in the month, according to industry journal Textilwirtschaft. In Sweden, the HUI/Stil index for clothing sales was up 6.4 per cent.
In September, H&M blamed warm weather for weaker-than-expected sales. Total sales rose 1 per cent in the month, while like-for-like sales tumbled 8 per cent
H&M does not release absolute sales figures, only the percentage change in local currencies.
