Anaheim’s Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. and Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. reported disappointing December same-store sales and cut their guidance for the three months through January, joining a chorus of dismal reports from retailers across the country.
Pacific Sunwear, which sells surf-inspired clothes at malls, said it saw sales at stores open at least a year fall 10% in December.
Analysts on average expected a 9.3% drop.
Total sales for the five weeks through Jan. 3 were $196 million, down 9% from a year earlier.
Lower sales and heavy discounts to lure hesitant shoppers prompted Pacific Sunwear to forecast a drastically steeper loss for the three months through January.
Pacific Sunwear now expects to lose $25 million to $28 million, up from an earlier outlook of $1.9 million to $5.2 million.
About $12 million of the expected loss is from price markdowns to clear out unsold clothes at stores. The expected loss would be worse if not for a $6.5 million gain on the company’s recent sale of its Anaheim warehouse.
Wet Seal, which runs mall stores for teen girls and young women, saw December same-store sales fall 12.5%, worse than the 11.9% analysts had expected.
Total sales for the five weeks through Jan. 3 fell 10% from a year earlier to $77.2 million.
Wet Seal narrowed its guidance for the current quarter through January.
It now expects a profit of $5.8 million to $7.7 million, down from an earlier forecast of $5.8 million to $9.6 million.
News from the local retailers came as industry bellwether Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a disappointing 1.2% rise in December same-store sales and cut its fourth-quarter profit outlook.
