Hallenstein Glasson is worried its profit will take an even bigger hit as it competes with heavy domestic discounting and international shops pulling customers online.
Chairman Warren Bell has signalled that the company's forecast of a 20% fall in first-half profit will come under even more pressure if sales don't pick up.
The company's sales of clothing have been falling for some time.
Milford Asset Management investment analyst Victoria Harris said Hallenstein Glasson's situation is mirrored in national retail sales data, which point to slow sales particularly in the clothing sector.
The popularity of shopping on international websites is taking market share from local retailers.
Ms Harris said domestic online purchases are only up 6% in New Zealand, but international purchases are up 20%, so that's taking a share off domestic players.
Christmas is looking more positive this year for many retailers, but Ms Harris said it's still tough in the apparel sector where there is a lot of discounting, particularly in womens' wear.
She said Hallenstein Glasson's is also coping with international competition and its Glassons brand in Australia is not performing particularly well.
BNZ's latest figures show the number of purchases made on international websites jumped by 20% in November, compared with the same month last year.
But BNZ director of institutional research Gary Baker said that's not necessarily bad news for local bricks-and-mortar retailers.
He said it remains to be seen whether people buy less domestically because they are spending a bit more internationally.
"But given that online sales are still just only over 6% of your total retail sales spend, a strong growth rate buying shopping overseas this month isn't going to dent the local sales in physical stores too much."
