Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz reported on Monday a bigger-than-expected 3 percent drop in year-on-year sales at established stores in July.

The mean forecast in a Reuters poll of 10 analysts had been for like-for-like sales to drop 1 percent.

Total sales were up 7 percent, undershooting a forecast 9 percent rise.

This is slightly worse than expected but no drama, said an analyst who declined to be named. H&M is not as active as its competitors when it comes to markdowns, which is bad for like-for-like sales but good for margins.

He said shares may drop slightly on the news.

H&M only gives round numbers for monthly sales and does not give currency figures.

In June, like-for-like sales dropped 5 percent while total sales were up 4 percent.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Fanny Modin; editing by Simon Jessop)