NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Clothing retailer J Crew Group Inc (JCG.N) raised its outlook for the third and fourth quarters on Thursday 22 October, citing stronger-than-expected sales and margin trends expected to last throughout the year.

J Crew

J Crew expects earnings of 54 cents to 59 cents in the third quarter, which began on August 2, up from its prior forecast of 30 cents to 33 cents per share. It said that range reflects a high single-digit increase in sales at stores open at least a year, which was better than the mid-single-digit decline it was expecting.

For the fourth quarter, J Crew expects same-store sales to increase at a mid-to-high-single digit rate. It had earlier forecast a low single digit increase. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Derek Caney)