UPDATE 1-Abercrombie & Fitch April same-store sales up 6 pct

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NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - Apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday its sales at stores open at least a year rose 6 percent in April.

Analysts, on average, had expected an increase of 2 percent, according to Reuters Estimates.

The New Albany, Ohio-based company, which owns the Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and RUEHL chains, said net sales in the month rose 18 percent from last year to $241 million for the four-week period that ended May 3.

Total direct-to-consumer net sales in those four weeks increased 47 percent to $20 million.

Same-store sales at its Abercrombie & Fitch stores rose 11 percent, while they increased 7 percent and 1 percent, respectively at the abercrombie and Hollister stores. They fell 12 percent at RUEHL stores.

The strongest men's categories across all brands included knit and fleece tops, graphic T-shirts and fragrance, while pants and activewear were weakest, the company said on a prerecorded call. Among the women's categories, shorts, jeans and accessories were strongest, while knit tops and graphic T-shirts were weakest.

The strongest same-store sales were seen in U.S.-based tourist stores, in the Northeast and in international stores, while the weakest were seen in the West, the company said. (Reporting by Nicole Maestri and Ben Klayman; editing by Maureen Bavdek)