The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that clothing retailer Roots' sales for this fiscal year will fall below previous expectations, as it faces various pressures across the business. The Globe's Susan Krashinsky writes that while comparable sales in stores open more than a year increased by 3 per cent in the latest quarter, overall performance was "below expectations," chief executive officer Jim Gabel said on a call to discuss the company's third-quarter earnings on Friday. The company previously disclosed guidance for sales of $358-million to $375-million this year; while it did not provide new numbers, executives said it will fall below the low end of that range. The challenges included softer sales in its leather and accessories categories, and falling international sales, as new stores in the United States significantly underperformed compared with the company's expectations, and macroeconomic headwinds affected sales in its three Asian markets: China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Also, "inefficiencies" in its new distribution centre affected sales and drove up costs. Roots' shares, which closed Friday at $2.06 in Toronto, have been in a long-term slide since trading above $12 in mid-2018.