The owner of fashion brand Zara said store and online sales rose 4% at constant currency compared with the prior-year period.

Shares in Zara owner Inditex fell 7 per cent on Wednesday after the world’s biggest fashion retailer said sales growth had started to slow. Inditex alarmed investors after results showed sales rose 4 per cent in the past five weeks,

Zara owner Inditex on Wednesday reported a slower start to its first quarter starting February 1, raising questions around its ability to keep building on rapid recent growth and sending its shares down more than 8% in early trading.