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Argos (retailer)

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This article is about the catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland. For other uses, see Argos (disambiguation).

Argos Ltd
Argos
Company typeLimited company
IndustryRetail
Founded13 November 1972; 51 years ago (1972-11-13)
FounderRichard Tompkins
HeadquartersMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England
Number of locations
845 shops (2016)[1]
Area served
United Kingdom, Ireland
Key people
John Rogers (CEO)
Iain MacMillan (CFO)
ProductsConsumer goods
RevenueDecrease £4,095.3 million (2016)[1]
Decrease £83.1 million (2016)[1]
Number of employees
29,565 (2016)[1]
ParentSainsbury's
Websitewww.argos.co.uk

Argos Ltd, trading as Argos, is a British catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a subsidiary of Sainsbury's. The company trades both through physical shops and online, with over 845 retail shops, 29 million yearly shop customers, and nearly a billion online visitors per annum, making it one of the largest high street retailers in the United Kingdom.[2]. It has also franchised overseas to countries such as China.

Argos was established on 13 November 1972, by Richard Tompkins, the founder of the Green Shield Stamps scheme, who rebranded the existing Green Shield Stamps catalogue shops as Argos, before opening new Argos-branded shops later in the year. BAT Industries purchased the company in 1979, and in 1990, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

In April 1998, GUS plc bought the company, and it became part of Home Retail Group when GUS split in October 2006. In August 2013, it was estimated that 96% of the population of the United Kingdom was within 10 miles of an Argos branch.[3]

In April 2016, Argos' parent Home Retail Group agreed to a £1.4 billion takeover by the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's intend to close most if not all separate Argos shops and integrate them into its large Sainsbury's supermarkets. The acquisition was completed on 2 September 2016, and the business became part of a division named Sainsbury's Argos led by its own chief executive.[4]

History

Former Argos logo introduced in 1999, until 23 January 2010
File:Argos 2018.svg
A version of Argos logo displayed on Argos website in 2018

The company was founded by Richard Tompkins who had previously established Green Shield Stamps in the United Kingdom. Whilst on holiday in the Greek city of Argos, he came up with the idea that people could purchase goods from his "Green Shield Gift House" with cash rather than savings stamps. He rebranded the original Green Shield Stamps catalogue shops as Argos beginning in July 1973,[5] the first purpose-built shop opening on the A28 Sturry Road, Canterbury in late 1973. Green Shield House was in Station Road, Edgware.

Argos was launched with thousands of staff, taking £1 million during a week in November.[6] Argos was purchased by BAT Industries in 1979 for £32 million. In 1980, Argos opened its Elizabeth Duke jewellery counter (named after a director's wife) and by 1982, was the United Kingdom's fourth-biggest jewellery retailer. The Elizabeth Duke brand has since been phased out and replaced with the "Jewellery and Watches" brand.

The company was demerged from BAT Industries and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1990. In April 1998, it was then acquired by GUS plc.[7] In October 2006, it subsequently became part of Home Retail Group which was demerged from its parent company, GUS plc, with effect from 10 October 2006.[8]

A rebranded Argos branch in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

In October 2009, it was announced that the Argos visual branding would be undergoing changes from 2010. This began on 23 January, with the relaunch of the main shopping website, and a new logo. The websites claim to make shopping with Argos more accessible. The careers website, and the release of the Spring/Summer 2010 catalogue were also relaunched. The company expect that the rebranding process will take "a number of years",[9] at a cost of £70 million.[10]

As part of the Autumn/Winter 2010 rebrand, all Argos Extra shops were planned to be branded simply as "Argos" when they are refitted. Former "Extra" marked lines will be available in all shops. However, stock levels will entirely depend on the area's demand for that particular line. If it does not sell, then the item will have to be ordered in to that shop. Argos shops in city centres will theoretically have a slightly different stocked-in range than those on retail parks.[citation needed]

In September 2013, Argos announced a click and collect scheme, in partnership with eBay, which will allow customers to collect their eBay purchases from any Argos shop across the United Kingdom.

In January 2016, the sale of sister company Homebase for £340 million was announced.[11]

In April 2016, Argos' parent Home Retail Group agreed to a £1.4 billion takeover by Sainsbury's, following a bidding war between the supermarket chain and South African conglomerate Steinhoff International.[4] The acquisition was completed on 2 September 2016.[12] A large number of high street and retail park shops have since closed and moved into a nearby Sainsbury's shop.

Operations

Catalogues

Argos publishes catalogues twice a year (a spring/summer edition in January and an autumn/winter edition in July). Current editions[when?] have well over 1600 pages containing photographs of items, brief descriptions, prices and a catalogue number. Shop copies are ring-bound and the pages individually laminated.

The Argos shopping process either involves completing a small order form with the catalogue numbers of the desired items. Argos provides red pencils in shops for this purpose. The order form is taken to the checkout and the items paid for, then the customer is given a receipt which indicates where they should wait for their items to be brought to them from the storeroom. Additionally, "Quick pay" kiosks are also available to place orders and pay. Customers can also shop and pay for their items online on the Argos app or by the Argos website. The customer can either pay online and get the item either delivered or "fast tracked". However, if delivery is selected then the item(s) can be paid for and delivered. Upon handover of the goods (if shopping using the catalogue number method), after receiving the receipt from the checkout and the item has been collected by the customer, the receipt is stamped "received" by the shop to ensure that it cannot be re-used.

Catalogues are complemented by seasonal sales flyers, offering price reductions on existing deals. Other items are sometimes available in flyers, such as ex-catalogue goods at reduced prices, especially after the launch of a new catalogue.

In March 2006, Argos carried out a trial of a new catalogue branded Argos Home in over 100 shops in the United Kingdom. This proved successful, and on 5 August 2006, it launched the second Argos Home catalogue, this time in all 200 Argos Extra shops. The catalogue only contains home furniture and styling tips for the current season. Most items displayed in the Argos Home catalogue are also available in the main catalogue too. There are occasionally new lines in the Home catalogue which may not have been available at the time the main catalogue went to print.

In October 2012, Argos announced that, as of 2013, that they would be closing a number of their catalogue shops. Thus fewer catalogues will be made available nationwide. This decision was made after a significant profit fall, and also to boost the popularity of their online shop. Claims, however, from the media that the shops themselves would change from their[13] states are false.

Following the merger of Sainsbury's and Argos in September 2016, an increasing number of stores now contain digital computers as well as laminated catalogues for a wider customer-base in addition to more standalone stores being relocated into nearby Sainsbury's supermarkets.

Own brands

Argos is the registered owner of a number of brands, which feature on a substantial number of products contained within the catalogue, including: Challenge,[14] Pro Action,[15] Visiq,[16][17] Cookworks,[18] Beanstalk,[19] Pro Fitness,[20] Opticom,[21] Grosvenor,[22] Steamworks,[23] Aquarius,[24] Coolworks,[25] Elevation, Acoustic Solutions, Mega Games and the now defunct Elizabeth Duke.[26][27]

In January 2009, Argos also struck a deal to take over the brands Alba, Bush,[28] and Chad Valley.[29] In January 2015, Argos took over the rights to sell the Cherokee clothing line from Tesco.[30]

Argos credit card

In August 2006, Barclays and Argos announced a joint venture to produce an Argos credit card (in the same year Barclays also joined with Thomas Cook).[31][32] Argos cancelled its contract with Barclaycard and a new Argos credit card was announced in 2012, this time in conjunction with Vanquis Bank.[33][34]

Former operations

HomeStore&More

Argos Extra shop in Cambridge in 2008, The 'Extra' brand was phased out in 2010.

During 2007, Home Retail Group launched a trial of five shops, branded HomeStore&More, situated in Aylesbury, Abingdon, Cambridge, Harlow and Cheltenham. These stores are operated by Argos[35] following Home Retail Group's acquisition of a stake in an Irish retail chain with the same name.[36] The Harlow shop also included a "BedStore&More".[37] The trial was abandoned in February 2012, and the stores closed.[38]

The Irish shops still operate, with HRG's remaining interest sold in May 2013.

ArgosCompare

Argos operated a financial services price comparison website, in conjunction with BeatThatQuote.com.[39] In January 2012, ArgosCompare was taken offline, as it did not comply with new guidance issued by the UK Financial Service Authority.

Argos TV

On 15 June 2011, Argos TV was launched on Sky channel 642 and online.[40] On 25 October 2011, the channel was added to Freesat on channel 819.[41]

On 19 September 2012, Argos TV launched on Freeview nationwide on channel 55 for a limited set of hours, as well as full-time in Manchester on channel 59.[42] As part of a reshuffle of the Freeview EPG, the Manchester version moved to channel 54 on 17 October 2012. Argos had leased the Sky EPG slot from JML Direct TV for 12 months to trial the channel and also used JML's facilities in Kentish Town.[43]

The channel broadcast 24 hours daily, and was produced by ETV Media Group, with four hours of live programming each weekday, and eight hours a day at weekends.[44] Viewers were able to purchase items and collect them from local Argos shops through the retailer's "check and reserve" service.

In 2013 the channel was removed from Freesat on 9 May and Sky on 13 May 2013 in order for Argos to focus resources in other areas. On Sky, it was immediately replaced with JML Living.[45]

International shops

In February 2007, Argos opened five shops in Mumbai, India. Argos had a franchise agreement, run in conjunction with HyperCity; its Indian retail partner. In January 2009, Argos closed all its shops in India due to poor sales.[46][47]

Controversies

Sunday trading

In July 2002, Argos sparked a political controversy in Scotland, when it sacked several workers for refusing to work on a Sunday.[48] This action would have been illegal in the rest of the United Kingdom, as the Sunday Trading Act 1994 gave shopworkers in England and Wales the right to refuse Sunday work (unless they were employed to work solely on a Sunday).

The 1994 Act did not apply to Scotland, as there was no legislation regarding Sunday trading applicable to Scotland. Although Argos later retracted its decision to sack the workers and to enforce a Sunday working clause in Scottish employee contracts,[49] its actions led to the passing of the Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003 which extended the legal right of employees to refuse Sunday working to include shopworkers in Scotland.

If an employee were to agree to work on a Sunday, they would be paid time and a half. This was then changed during 2010, when employees' pay went from time and a half to the normal hourly rate.[citation needed]

Price fixing

In May 2002, Argos, along with rival retailer Littlewoods Index, was accused by the Office of Fair Trading of price fixing goods from toy manufacturer Hasbro.[50] The decision reached in 2003 resulted in Argos being fined £17.28 million,[51] however, an appeal in 2005 led to that being reduced to £15 million.[52] Argos boss Terry Duddy gave evidence along with David Snow, Jonathan Ward, Alan Cowley, and Ian Thompson.[53] Argos and the other companies appealed to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the case and ruled in favour of the Office of Fair Trading in October 2006.[54]

Furniture and skin burns

In February 2008, Chinese manufactured sofas from Argos and other retailers Land of Leather and Walmsleys were featured in a BBC Watchdog report on skin irritation.[55] The Chinese manufacturer, LinkWise, denies that the furniture is to blame for the incidents. Watchdog praised Argos for its speedy voluntary recall of the affected products, compared to the two other retailers involved. However, during a lengthy case ending in 2010, customers won compensation against the company.

Pricing in Ireland

In January 2009, the higher price that Argos charges for goods in Republic of Ireland, compared to the United Kingdom, attracted criticism.[56]

Workfare

Main article: Workfare in the United Kingdom

In 2012 Argos withdrew from its involvement in the controversial Workfare scheme introduced by (then) Prime Minister David Cameron. Argos and its parent company Home Retail Group were heavily criticised by some for their involvement in the scheme failing to offer jobs to those who successfully completed the course. An external company poster produced by Home Retail Group's owned chain of shops, Homebase, supporting unpaid work to boost profits was leaked to the public and led to the discontinuation of workfare by all companies within the Home Retail Group and several other major companies.[57]

Charity partnerships

As of May 2015, main charity partner for Argos is Macmillan Cancer Support. Previously they partnered with Alzheimer's Society, which operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and its sister charities Alzheimer Scotland and The Alzheimer Society of Ireland. All three charities will be Argos "Charity of the Year" in their respective territories in an arrangement scheduled to run until 2015.[58]

Previous major charity partnerships include the Teenage Cancer Trust, which began in July 2010, and ran until July 2012, the British Heart Foundation (July 2008 to July 2010) and Help The Hospices[59] (July 2006 to July 2008).

In a later charity initiative, Argos teamed up with Barnardo's in a six-week campaign in the run-up to Christmas 2012 that raised £700,000 for the children's charity.[60] Under the scheme customers brought in unwanted toys to Argos or Barnado's shops in return for £5 Argos vouchers.[61] Argos passed on the old toys it collected to Barnado's for sale in the charity's own chain of shops.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Annual Report and Financial Statements 2016" (PDF). Home Retail Group. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. ^ "About Argos". Sainsbury's. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  3. ^ Paula Cocozza. "Argos: 40 years of catalogue shopping". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Sainsbury's wins battle to buy Argos". BBC News. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Argos – www.argos.co.uk". argos.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  6. ^ Milestones and Memories Archived 15 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Argos. Article. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  7. ^ "Argos attacks GUS offer". BBC News. 26 February 1998. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  8. ^ "GUS reveals demerger plans". Findarticles.com. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Argos set to rebrand in 2010". Marketing Magazine. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  10. ^ Wood, Zoe (27 August 2010). "Argos chief Sara Weller – tackling a catalogue of errors". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Homebase bought by Australia's Wesfarmers for £340m". BBC. 18 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Sainsbury's acquisition of Argos parent company now complete". Retail Gazette. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Daily Mail website. Information. Retrieved 19 July 2013". Daily Mail. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  14. ^ "Trademark 789922". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  15. ^ "Trademark 2130732". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  16. ^ "Trademark 2189886". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  17. ^ "Trademark 2189887". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  18. ^ "Trademark 2189939". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  19. ^ "Trademark 2189941". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  20. ^ "Trademark 2266276". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  21. ^ "Trademark 2346292". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  22. ^ "Trademark 2369535". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  23. ^ "Trademark 2446698". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  24. ^ "Trademark 2421779". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  25. ^ "Trademark 2471774". ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  26. ^ "Elizabeth Duke" trademark registration, UK Patent Office website. Information. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  27. ^ Argos trademarks, UK Patent Office website. Information. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  28. ^ "Trademark 2498304". Ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  29. ^ "Trademark 1016513". Ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  30. ^ "Argos takes over rights to sell Cherokee clothing". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  31. ^ "Barclays Bank and Argos in credit card tie-up". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  32. ^ "Barclaycard Timeline". barclaycard.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ "The Sun Cashback Page is no longer available". thesuncashback.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  34. ^ "Argos Credit & Insurance – Argos Credit Card". argos.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  35. ^ "HomeStore&More". Homestoreandmore.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Home Retail Group – Our history". Homeretailgroup.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ "BedStore&More". Bedstoreandmore.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2010.[permanent dead link]
  38. ^ "HRG to close HomeStore & More". diyweek.net. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  39. ^ "We work in partnership with Beatthatquote.com..." Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  40. ^ "Argos TV channel launching on Sky". Digital Spy. 15 June 2011.
  41. ^ "Argos TV launches on Freesat in time for Christmas". Digital Spy. 25 October 2011.
  42. ^ "Argos TV launching on Freeview". Digital Spy. 14 September 2012.
  43. ^ "Argos to launch new TV shopping channel". Retail Gazette. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ "Argos gears up for TV channel launch". Marketing. 15 June 2011.
  45. ^ "Argos TV comes to an end". a516digital. 12 May 2013.
  46. ^ "Argos pulls back its international plans". Retail Week. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  47. ^ James Hall (28 January 2009). "Argos quits India after two years". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  48. ^ "Sunday roasting for retailer", BBC. Article dated 1 July 2002. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  49. ^ "Argos Sunday working climbdown", BBC. Article dated 1 July 2002. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
  50. ^ "Inquiry into toy 'price fixing'", BBC. Article dated 1 May 2002. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  51. ^ "Record fines for toys price fixing". Office of Fair Trading. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  52. ^ "Toy price-fixers fined £20 million". Archived from the original on 6 August 2006. Retrieved 25 December 2005. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  53. ^ Agreements between Hasbro U.K. Ltd, Argos Ltd and Littlewoods Ltd fixing the price of Hasbro toys and games[permanent dead link], oft.gov.uk. Article dated 19 February 2002. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  54. ^ "Court of Appeal upholds OFT decisions in price fixing cases". www.theretailbulletin.com. The Retail Bulletin, Retail News. 20 October 2006. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  55. ^ "BBC Watchdog – Itchy Sofas", BBC. Article dated 18 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  56. ^ "Pricewatch " Price is still not right". The Irish Times. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  57. ^ Morse, Felicity (5 April 2013). "Homebase Deny Using Work Experience Staff To Cut Costs". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  58. ^ "Company website: Argos in the community". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  59. ^ "Help The Hospices". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  60. ^ "Third Sector "Barnardo's Toy Exchange scheme with Argos raises £700,000 in six weeks"". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  61. ^ "Argos Toy Exchange page. Retrieved 29 March 2013". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
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