www.cache.com

*Q3 adjusted loss per share $0.10 vs estimate of loss of $0.13

*Q3 net sales falls 4 pct to $58.1 mln

*Sees FY EPS at lower end of prior view

*Expects Q4 same-store sales to be negative

Oct 24 (Reuters)- Women's apparel retailer Cache Inc posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss as tight inventory controls and better merchandise positioning mitigated some of the effects of a reduction in mall traffic.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 27, the company posted a net loss of $1.6 million, including store closure costs, compared with a profit of $161,000 a year earlier.

Average inventory per store was down 16 percent at quarter end from the same time a year ago, the company said.

The New York-based company, however, said October sales trends continue to be soft with comparable store sales down between 9 percent and 10 percent month-to-date.

Cache, which sees same-store sales remaining negative in the fourth quarter, said it expects earnings for the full year to be at the lower end of its prior outlook.

Shares of the company closed at $3.21 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)