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Abercrombie sees slow sales, but backs Street estimates

MINNEAPOLIS, June 12 (Reuters) - Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - news), the youth-oriented clothing retailer, said on Monday it expects continued negative growth in its comparable store sales but said it still believes it will meet Wall Street's earnings forecast for 2000.

``The Street consensus is currently $1.57 for the year. That falls within our range. We think we can achieve that range even with negative comparable store sales in the fall,'' chief operating officer Seth Johnson told an investors at a U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray conference here.

``We expect to increase EPS by 10 to 20 percent in the third and fourth quarters (versus the year ago),'' he added.

Chief executive officer Michael Jeffries said the company plans to lower its price points by $5 to $10.

He added, ``We were off track in women's fashion during the back-to-school period last year. The customer wants a more feminine look today and we missed that.''

The company is continuing its rollout of Abercrombie & Fitch stores and its chain of children's stores. Jeffries said he expects to open 45 to 50 adult stores and the same number of children's stores by yearend.

Currently the Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based retailer operates 231 Abercrombie & Fitch stores for adults and 41 children's stores.