By
Reuters
Published
Feb 3, 2010
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Hot Topic January sales miss estimates

By
Reuters
Published
Feb 3, 2010

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Hot Topic Inc (HOTT.O) reported a 13.1 percent drop in same-store sales for January, missing market estimates for the third straight month, and the teen clothing retailer posted fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations.

Hot Topic
Hot Topic

The company also said it expects fourth-quarter earnings to be at the low end of its previous outlook of 18 cents a share to 20 cents a share.

Analysts on average were expecting January same-store sales to drop 12.1 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Of late, the company has been under pressure to prove itself 'fashion-right,' and not just driven by the success of hot licenses.

Sales at Hot Topic, which sells rock 'n' roll-inspired clothing as well as music and accessories, have weakened in the absence of a new sales driver like its hugely popular 'Twilight' merchandise.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported total sales of $214.2 million, while analysts were looking for $215.9 million.

Shares of the California-based company were down slightly at $5.38 Wednesday 3 February after market. They closed at $5.40 on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)

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