Clothing company Tilly’s has reported a net loss and lower sales for the first quarter, which management attributed to headwinds brought about by the macro environment.

Total net sales for the quarter ended May 4 were $115.9 million, down 6.3 per cent year on year, with comparable net sales dropping 9.4 per cent.

Net sales from physical stores fell 5.1 per cent, with a comparable store net sales decrease of 8.6 per cent. E-commerce net sales plunged 10.8 per cent.

On the bottom line, the retailer recorded net loss of $19.6 million compared to net loss of $12.0 million in the prior year.

“Our business continues to face many headwinds from the macro environment, but we believe we are making progress on improving our product margins and driving greater customer engagement through our marketing efforts,” said Hezy Shaked, co-founder and interim president and CEO. 

“While we expect it to remain difficult to improve our sales results in the near term, we believe the efforts we are making now will produce benefits in the future when the current environment improves.”

The company expects net sales to be in range of $160 million to $165 million for the second quarter, a decline of 7-10 per cent.