Oct 8 (Reuters) - Men's Wearhouse slashed its third-quarter profit outlook by about 33 percent as its U.S. stores saw fewer shoppers due to challenging economic conditions, sending its shares down more than 10 percent.

www.menswearhouse.com

U.S. apparel retailers have been seeing sluggish sales at their outlets as U.S. credit woes continue to force cash-strapped consumers to curtail spending on non-essential items.

For the third quarter, the company expects earnings of about 24 cents a share to 28 cents a share, excluding items, down from its prior outlook of 36 cents a share to 40 cents a share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 38 cents a share, before special items, according to Reuters Estimates.

The Houston-based owner of more than 1,200 stores under the Men's Wearhouse, Moores and K&G names said it expects sluggish retail trends to continue through the final month of the quarter.

Shares of the company were down $1.89 at $15.75 in trading after the bell. They had closed at $17.64 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in Bangalore; Editing by Pratish Narayanan)