MADRID, Sept 11 Reuters Zara owner Inditex reported a rebound in recent sales of its first autumnwinter collections on Wednesday, offsetting a slowdown in sales in the first half of the year that was in line with analysts39; expectations.

The fashion giant said its sales between Aug. 1 and Sept. 8 saw an 11 boost in constant currency compared with a year ago, which countervailed the slowdown in earlier months.

The world39;s biggest listed fashion retailer reported a 10 rise in firsthalf profit as sales increased 7.2, at a slower pace than last year but in line with analysts39; forecasts of tougher times for fashion retailers in Europe, partly due to wetterthanexpected weather in early summer.

Despite June39;s headwinds, Inditex posted net incomes of 2.8 billion euros 3.09 billion and sales of 18.1 billion euros in its first half ending in July, while analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of 2.77 billion euros with 18 billion euros in sales.

Analysts from HSBC, RBC, JPMorgan and Bestinver expected Zara sales to rebound into the double digits in the first five weeks of its third quarter beginning in August, after a wet and cold June in its biggest market, Spain, dashed expectations of a bumper second quarter, as Zara had anticipated.

The fashion company has fought to stay ahead of rivals such as HM and growing Chinese rival Shein by investing in logistics and technology to deliver fashion trends faster and making an effort to minimise price increases on everyday…