Kate, Princess of Wales, to Curtail Publicizing Her Wardrobe Choices

 Catherine, Princess of Wales meets with members of the production team on the factory floor during a visit to Corgi, a family run textiles manufacturer focused on the production of socks and knitwear Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Ammanford, Wales. (Rebecca Naden/Pool photo via AP)
Catherine, Princess of Wales meets with members of the production team on the factory floor during a visit to Corgi, a family run textiles manufacturer focused on the production of socks and knitwear Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Ammanford, Wales. (Rebecca Naden/Pool photo via AP)
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Kate, Princess of Wales, to Curtail Publicizing Her Wardrobe Choices

 Catherine, Princess of Wales meets with members of the production team on the factory floor during a visit to Corgi, a family run textiles manufacturer focused on the production of socks and knitwear Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Ammanford, Wales. (Rebecca Naden/Pool photo via AP)
Catherine, Princess of Wales meets with members of the production team on the factory floor during a visit to Corgi, a family run textiles manufacturer focused on the production of socks and knitwear Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Ammanford, Wales. (Rebecca Naden/Pool photo via AP)

The Princess of Wales wants people to focus on her work not her wardrobe.

Kensington Palace is going to cut back on naming the luxury labels Kate wears, the Sunday Times reported.

Kate, who is married to Prince William, the eldest son of King Charles III, is admired for her elegant style and is often dressed in fashion's fanciest threads. Names of designers punctuate coverage of her royal outings: Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham.

Brands have often benefited after she's worn one of their items.

The newspaper reported that Kate was frustrated that too much attention was being paid to her attire and not to the important issues she's highlighting.

Kate, who has a foundation for early childhood development, is launching a new initiative aimed at developing social and emotional skills.

In foreshadowing the new approach, the palace did not release details of her clothing during a recent visit to Wales. The princess, who recently announced she was in remission for an undisclosed cancer, met children at a hospice charity she's a patron of on that trip.

During important state and royal family events, however, details on her clothing and jewelry may still be released, the newspaper said.



Zara Owner Inditex Meets Quarterly Sales Forecast but Recent Sales Slow

Shoppers walk past a Zara clothes store, part of the Spanish group Inditex, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, December 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past a Zara clothes store, part of the Spanish group Inditex, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, December 13, 2022. (Reuters)
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Zara Owner Inditex Meets Quarterly Sales Forecast but Recent Sales Slow

Shoppers walk past a Zara clothes store, part of the Spanish group Inditex, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, December 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past a Zara clothes store, part of the Spanish group Inditex, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, December 13, 2022. (Reuters)

Zara owner Inditex on Wednesday reported sales for its fourth quarter ending January 31 in line with analysts' expectations, sealing another year of strong growth for the world's biggest listed fast-fashion retailer.
Inditex's first quarter started more slowly, though, with sales up just 4% in currency-neutral terms over the February 1 to March 10 period, compared to 11% growth a year ago, Reuters said.
Sales grew 10.5% in currency-neutral terms, to 38.6 billion euros ($42.07 billion) for the year, Inditex said, as fourth-quarter sales came in at 11.2 billion euros.
"The main concern will be a softer exit rate of 4%" compared to analysts' forecast of 8.8% growth for the first quarter, Bernstein analyst William Woods said. "This requires a significant acceleration in the rest of the quarter," Woods said, noting Inditex said sales in its most recent week were up 7%.
Zara's growth may have been boosted recently by consumers shifting from more high-end brands to Zara during the cost-of-living crisis, and that trading down might not happen to the same extent in the coming years, said Morningstar analyst Jelena Sokolova.
In comments on its 2025 outlook, Inditex said it had a "strong commitment to profitable growth" after net profit for 2024 grew 9% to 5.9 billion euros.
"The excellent sales and profit figures show the solidity of the Inditex Group's profitable growth," Chief Executive Officer Oscar Garcia Maceiras said in a statement.
Inditex, which also owns Bershka, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, and Oysho brands, said it would hike its dividend by 9% to 1.68 euros per share.
Inditex's consistent growth, outpacing rivals, such as H&M, has driven a strong run in its share price, which is now more than double of where it was three years ago, but the stock has struggled to gain further ground since September last year.
Inditex plans capital spending of 1.8 billion euros this year, unchanged from 2024, as it invests in store refurbishments, technology and improving its online platforms.
After investments in logistics and expanding warehouses, Inditex said a second distribution center in its logistics hub of Zaragoza will open this summer.
The retailer, which operates in 214 markets around the world, plans to open its first stores in Iraq this year. Its brand aimed at younger shoppers, Bershka, will launch in Sweden, and sportswear and loungewear brand Oysho is set to open for the first time in the Netherlands and Germany.