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* Q1 sales unchanged in local currencies
* Q1 result means February sales deteriorated
* Market expectations were for 1.2 pct increase
* Shares fall 5 pct(Adds detail, background, shares)
As H&M had already announced its sales for December-Januaryrose 1 percent, flat sales in local currencies for the quarterto end-February signalled fresh weakness. A Reuters poll meanforecast was for a 1.2 percent increase.
H&M shares fell as much as 5.1 percent in early trading,having lost 44 percent over the past year to be trading at10-year lows.
After decades of rapid expansion growing to 4,743 stores,the world's second-largest clothes retailer behind Zara ownerInditex has seen sales growth stall in recent years asit has struggled to adapt to the shift online and fend offincreased competition from other budget brands.
While Inditex has invested in technology to merge online andstore experiences, for example radio frequency identificationdevices (RFID) on clothing that allow it to keep a tight controlon inventory and notify customers if items are available atnearby stores, H&M has lagged.
Inditex also has a more flexible supply chain, enablingin-store deliveries and returns of online orders that itsSwedish rival has been slower to introduce.
Inditex on Wednesday posted a 7 percent profit rise in itsfiscal year through January and said sales grew 9 percent in thefirst five weeks of its new financial year. Its shares are down19 percent in the last 12 months.
CHILLY START TO YEAR
H&M warned in February, at its first-ever capital marketsday, that markdowns due to high inventories would hit earningsat the start of the year. It said it hadn't got its productranges right.
The company, whose brands include Cos, Weekday and CheapMonday as well as its main H&M stores, is due to publish itsfull fiscal first-quarter earnings report on March 23.
H&M said in February it was expecting a gradual improvementin underlying sales throughout the year.
"We think the spring fashion season has got off to a toughstart, not helped by very cold temperatures in late February andearly March in major European markets," RBC Capital Markets saidin a note, adding it will put downward pressure on consensusearnings forecasts for Q1 and the full year.
H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in February his priority wasto get the core budget H&M brand back on track. It accounts forthe bulk of sales but visitors to its stores have dwindled.
Analysts said, having seen like-for-like sales slow andshares tumble over the last couple of years, he has not yetconvinced them he has a viable plan to turn around the weaktrend in its core brand.
"Most important is to develop the range which we haven’timproved enough, to lift the store experience to a new level -there we haven’t improved enough - and to develop the onlinestore and connect the channels," Persson told Reuters lastmonth.
Sales excluding VAT fell to 46.2 billion Swedish crowns(
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