In practice, only an inconsequential percentage of the items are actually sent back to Spain. Rapid movement of new products through the stores, and the knowledge that some of the products may not be replenished, together create an additional incentive for customers to buy on the spot (because if a customer chooses to wait, the item might be sold out and may never be made again). All this means that Zara carries less overall inventory per unit of sales than its competitors (see Figure 4) and has less unsold items that have to be discounted in end-
of–season sales. In an industry where such discounting means that the average product fetches only 60% to 70% of its full price, Zara manages to collect 85%.