Struggling fashion clothing chain Gap posted a loss for the November to December period as fashionistas shunned its styles.

It is Gap's second back-to-back loss, putting the once-trendy firm into the red for a straight six months.

"When we get the product right, we'll get the customers back", said Gap president and CEO Millard Drexler.

He described 2001 as "our most difficult year ever".

Gap has seen sales falling steadily for nearly two years, with the decline blamed on lacklustre clothing designs and competition from discount retailers.

Mr Drexler admits the firm's fashion sense slipped as it "got bored" of successful core lines.

Wooing back customers

Gap is now trying to win back customers by returning to staples like khakis and t-shirts and cheering up its colour palette, he said.

But the latest sales figures were not encouraging, with same store sales down 17% this month and "several points" below target, due partly to poor stock control.

"We do feel we are out of stock of too many things," said Heidi Kunz, Gap's chief financial officer.

For the three months to 2 February, sales fell 11% to $4.1bn (�2.8bn), compared to $4.6bn in the year-earlier period.

Gap reported a loss of $34.2m, sliding into the red from a profit of $271.8m year-earlier.

The results were in line with analysts expectations.