Hot Topic same store sales down 2.7 percent

Same-store sales during the four weeks ended Aug. 30 fell 1.7 percent at namesake stores and dropped 7.6 percent at the company's Torrid chain.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected a 5.1 percent drop.

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

Year-to-date sales fell by 2 percent, the retailer said.

Hot Topic, based in City of Industry, Calif., is a mall-based retailer and also sells music, accessories and gift items.