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Promenade of Light.]] Argos is the largest general-goods Retailer in the United Kingdom and Republic Of Ireland with over 680 stores. Argos is unique amongst major retailers in the U.K. because its primary means of displaying goods to customers is via a catalogue. Customers browse through the Argos catalogue, select items to purchase, pay for the items, and then collect the items from the in-store collection desk or have the item delivered to their home. Argos own several brands including Elizabeth Duke "Elizabeth Duke" trademark registration , UK Patent Office website. Information retrieved . HISTORY The original Green Shield Stamps 'catalogue' shops were rebranded Argos beginning in July 1973 . Argos launched in July 1973 with 1000 members of staff, taking £1,000,000 during a week in November. Milestones and Memories , Argos. Article retrieved 2007-03-04 . Argos was purchased by BAT Industries in 1979 for a deal worth £32 million. The following year, Argos opened its Elizabeth Duke jewellery counter and by 1982 was the UK's 4th biggest jewellery retailer. CATALOGUES Argos publishes catalogues twice a year (a Spring/Summer edition in January and an Autumn/Winter edition in July). Current editions have well over 1500 pages containing photographs of items, brief descriptions, prices and a catalogue number. Store copies are almost identical to home versions except for being ring-bound with individually laminated pages. Catalogues are complimented by seasonal sales flyers, offering ''Non-Catalogue'' lines and price reductions on existing deals. Other items are sometimes available in stores, such as ex-catalogue goods at reduced prices (especially after the launch of a new catalogue). In early 2006, Argos trialed a new catalogue branded Argos Home in over 100 stores in the U.K. This was proven to be successful and on Saturday 5 August 2006 , it launched the second Argos Home catalogue, this time in all 200 ''Argos Extra'' stores. The catalogue only contains home furniture and styling tips for the current season. SHOPPING IN ARGOS Customers are able to browse through the catalogue at home or in-store or can view products on the company's website. If shopping in-store, the customer takes a list of catalogue numbers to a till, where the goods are paid for and the customer issued with a receipt. A picking ticket is then printed in the store's stockroom, and a member of staff picks the items and takes them to the collection area. When the goods arrive at the collection area the customer is called forward to receive them. Most stores have an automated "Call Forward" system in place which issues customers with an order number and estimated collection time. The customer is called forward to the collection counter automatically once the estimated collection time is reached, or sooner if staff override the system. ''Quick Pay'' kiosks are being continually introduced to stores. Using a touchscreen terminal, customers can enter their catalogue numbers, pay by Credit or Debit Card and be issued with a receipt without the intervention of a cashier. To ensure that stock is available when a customer arrives in store, they are encouraged to use the "Check & Reserve" service before going into the store, either using the Argos website, telephone or text message service. This allows a customer to reserve stock until the end of the next working day, or order it into that store, depending on the store format. Customers who reserve items are issued with a reservation number, which is either presented to the cashier or entered into a Quick Pay terminal and the customer pays for the goods as usual. Customers can also check stock in-store using the stock checker terminals, saving them from queuing for items that may be out of stock. Argos has a home delivery arm entitled Argos Direct, which allows delivery of most in-store items, and also a selection of larger goods in the catalogue which are set for delivery only; customers can order goods in-store or online for home delivery. Argos is currently trialling a new store system that allows Argos Direct orders to be placed from in-store terminals linked to the website. Differences between Argos and traditional retailers The method of shopping in Argos differs from most traditional British and Irish high street retailers. Because most stock is held in stockrooms to which only staff have access, much more stock can be held per unit floor area than can be held in a traditional shop. Stock is typically housed in 3 metre high racks with numbered aisles, bays and shelves for fast and efficient acquirement of items. Argos often packages its goods in plain packaging or simple plastic bags, rather than smart packaging for shopfloor display. The fact that customers don't have direct access to most stock means that incidents of Shoplifting and customers damaging stock are significantly reduced. Because of the way Argos operates, less shop floorspace is required but very often a minimum of two staff members to serve each customer (one on till, one acquiring goods and dispatching) is required resulting in different overheads compared to traditional stores. Most of the goods are available tightly packed over the counter, but larger items might be delivered straight to the customer's home a few days after their order is placed. Most Argos stores have small items stacked in the till area (such as water jug filters, light bulbs and batteries) for customers to purchase at tills. STORE FORMATS There are three main formats of Argos stores:
:These stores hold very little stock and specially order in products for collection by customers at a later date.
:These stores, which are essentially Traditional stores, hold the traditional Argos range (over 10,000 lines) and the "Extra" range can be ordered from the warehouse within three working days, depending on stock availability.
:These stores, which are essentially Extra stores, formerly known as "Argos Superstore", hold the full range of items (excluding "Home Delivery" items) from the catalogue, including the Extra range. The Extra range taken together with the traditional range is approximately a third larger than the traditional range alone, so most Extra stores tend to be in out of town Retail Park s, where more space is available at a lower cost. COMPANY INFORMATION In the financial year April 2003–March 2004, Argos had sales of over £3 billion. Argos was acquired by GUS Plc in 1998 and has its head office at The Retail Centre of Excellence in Milton Keynes . Argos is part of the '''Home Retail Group''', which also includes the Homebase DIY retailer. Argos used to own Argos Additions, but this is now owned by the Shop Direct Group and is known as '''Additions Direct'''. In June 2005, Argos purchased the Index brand from Littlewoods but are not currently using it. They also purchased 33 former Index stores which were converted into Argos stores. The Home Retail Group demerged from GUS plc on 11 October 2006 . The other remaining company of GUS, Experian, is going to handle the financial services that were previously handles by '''Mark Industries'''. CONTROVERSIES Sunday trading In 2001, Argos sparked a political controversy in , retrieved 2006-11-06 their 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. Price fixing In 2002, Argos, along with rival retailer Index were accused by the , retrieved 2007-03-04 .. As of 2005, Argos denies price fixing and is appealing the decision. REFERENCES RELATED LINKS EXTERNAL LINKS |
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