Hot Topic August Same-store Sales Fall 8.1 Percent

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. (AP) — Apparel retailer Hot Topic Inc. said Wednesday that its same-store sales fell 8.1 percent in July, a bigger drop than analysts expected.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected same-store sales to fall 6.9 percent.

During the four weeks ended Aug. 29, sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.7 percent at namesake stores and 7.6 percent at Torrid stores. Total sales for the month fell 7 percent to $66.6 million.

Same-store sales are a key measure of retailer performance, because they measure growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.