SHOPPERS SPLASH OUT AT ZARA

ZARA owner Inditex has stolen a march on rival H&M as its summer range flies off the shelves.

The Spanish giant, which also owns Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti, said sales in the last six weeks were 17.5pc up on a year ago.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Aarin Chiekrie said Inditex is ‘doing everything right’.

The news is a boost for boss Marta Ortega, 39 ( pictured), who took over as chairman last April from her father Amancio Ortega.

By contrast, Sweden’s H&M which owns the Cos and Weekday labels said sales in the three months to February 28 grew just 3pc to £4.3bn, news that sent its shares down 8.5pc in Sweden. Jefferies analyst James Grzinic said results were ‘worse than feared’.

Inditex’s shares also slipped by almost 5.1pc but it hailed an ‘excellent’ 2022, with sales climbing 17.5pc to £29bn. Profit last year was £3.6bn.