Sainsbury’s issues major update on Argos store closure plans as nine more branches to disappear from the high street

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SAINSBURY'S has issued a large update regarding the closure of much Argos stores.

The supermarket chain, which owns Argos, plans to unopen 9 much standalone locations successful the upcoming fiscal year.

Argos has already closed dozens of stores implicit the past 2 years

This determination is portion of an ongoing strategy to modulation the brand's beingness from accepted precocious thoroughfare stores to integrated concessions wrong Sainsbury's supermarkets.

It comes arsenic Sainsbury's interim results released yesterday showed income astatine Argos slipped by 5% successful the 28 weeks to September 14.

Sainsbury's wide merchandise and covering income besides declined by 1.5% during this period.

Argos' proprietor added: "For the afloat fiscal twelvemonth we expect to unfastened 13 Argos stores wrong Sainsbury's and adjacent 9 standalone stores."

Sainsbury's has not yet disclosed the locations of the next circular of Argos store closures.

The institution besides stated that it has not yet informed employees astatine the stores that volition beryllium affected.

A spokesperson for Argos told The Sun: "The translation of our Argos store and organisation web has been progressing astatine gait for respective years now, improving availability, convenience and work for customers."

"As portion of this, we are continuing to unfastened caller Argos stores and postulation points successful galore of our Sainsbury’s supermarkets, enabling customers to acquisition thousands of technology, location and artifact products from Argos portion picking up their groceries."

Argos has closed dozens of stores implicit the past 2 years.

Since March 2023, Sainsbury's has reduced the fig of standalone Argos stores by 72, down to 213 from 385.

However, it has accrued the fig of Argos stores wrong Sainsbury's supermarkets by 22 - from 424 to 446.

Last twelvemonth each 34 Argos stores successful the Republic of Ireland were unopen down.

The institution blamed the closure of the stores connected the concern required to make and modernise the Irish portion of its business arsenic "not viable".

The astir caller closure occurred connected October 17, erstwhile the Argos store successful Plymouth metropolis centre permanently unopen its doors.

Before this, the Argos store successful Greenock, Inverclyde, unexpectedly ceased operations connected September 14.

HISTORY OF ARGOS

FOUNDED successful 1972 by Richard Tompkins, Argos revolutionised the British retail scenery with its unsocial catalogue-based buying model.

The archetypal store opened successful Canterbury, Kent and rapidly expanded, becoming a household name.

Customers could browse the extended Argos catalogue, capable retired a acquisition slip, and cod their items from the in-store postulation point.

The retailer was sold to British American Tobacco Industries successful 1979 for £32million earlier being demerged and listed connected the London Stock Exchange successful 1990.

In April 1998, the institution was acquired by GUS plc.

Throughout the decades, Argos adapted to changing user habits, embracing e-commerce aboriginal connected and launching its website successful 1999.

This allowed customers to reserve items online for in-store pick-up, blending the convenience of integer buying with the immediacy of carnal retail.

By 2006, Argos became portion of the Home Retail Group which was demerged from its genitor GUS plc.

At the time, Home Retail Group besides owned Homebase and Habitat.

In 2016, Argos, on with its Home Retail Group sister marque Habitat, was acquired by Sainsbury's.

Since the acquisition, the Argos marque has been integrated into Sainsbury's operations, importantly expanding its beingness done dedicated concessions wrong Sainsbury's supermarkets crossed the UK.

However, owed to declining sales, Sainsbury's discontinued Argos' iconic printed catalogue successful 2020.

Despite these setbacks, Argos has remained existent to its roots, offering a wide scope of products from toys and electronics to furnishings and jewellery.

SALES UP AT SAINSBURY'S

Despite a diminution successful income for some Argos and Sainsbury's wide merchandise and clothing, market income surged by 5% successful the 28 weeks starring up to September 14.

The retailer said it was boosted by beardown Taste the Difference premium scope income and Nectar rank pricing.

Simon Roberts, main enforcement of Sainsbury's, said: "Our nutrient concern is going from spot to spot and we're making the biggest marketplace stock gains successful the industry, with continued beardown measurement growth.

"More and much customers are coming to america for their large nutrient shop, recognising our winning operation of value, prime and service.

"As we caput into the festive season, determination is existent vigor and excitement astatine Sainsbury’s and Argos, and we're expecting different beardown performance."

Sainsbury's full underlying pre-tax profit was up 4.7% to £356million.

The supermarket concatenation is besides expected to unfastened 13 caller supermarkets successful the coming months.

Ten of these caller stores, scheduled to unfastened soon, were acquired from DIY retailer Homebase, portion the remaining 3 were purchased from Co-op Food.

However, the brag of the supermarket elephantine besides warned that shoppers volition look higher nutrient prices aft the Budget's taxation raid connected employers.

PRICES TO RISE

Last week, Rachel Reeves hiked the leader complaint of National Insurance (NI) from 13.8% to 15%.

She besides announced a simplification to the threshold astatine which businesses commencement paying NI contributions from £9,100 to £5,000.

It's estimated that the determination volition rise £25billion - the equivalent of astir £800 per worker for each firm.

Businesses, peculiarly wrong the hospitality sector, person warned that the accrued fiscal load could pb to higher operating costs, which whitethorn yet beryllium passed connected to consumers done terms rises.

Mr Roberts said the NI hike would outgo Sainsbury's an other £140million.

His comments travel after Wetherspoons and Marks & Spencer warned of a combined £160million hit from the Chancellor's decision to summation leader contributions.

Mr Roberts said: "It volition pb to inflation and it's beauteous wide it's going to travel beauteous fast.

"Given the debased margins of the industry, determination isn't the capableness to sorb this level of unexpected cost inflation."

On Tuesday, the main enforcement of Primark's genitor company, Associated British Foods, said helium felt "the value of taxation rises" successful the Budget was falling connected the UK precocious street.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) besides said past week that the Treasury's crisp summation successful spending would pb to higher ostentation successful the coming months.

Despite authoritative figures from October showing that ostentation fell to 1.7%, its lowest level since April 2021, the OBR expects ostentation to mean 2.5% this twelvemonth and 2.6% adjacent year.

INFLATION MATTERS

INFLATION is simply a measurement of the outgo of living. It looks astatine however overmuch the terms of goods, specified arsenic nutrient oregon televisions, and services, specified arsenic haircuts oregon bid tickets, has changed implicit time.

Usually radical measurement ostentation by comparing the outgo of things contiguous with however overmuch they outgo a twelvemonth ago. The mean summation successful prices is known arsenic the ostentation rate.

The authorities sets an ostentation people of 2%.

If ostentation is excessively precocious oregon it moves astir a lot, the Bank of England says it is hard for businesses to acceptable the close prices and for radical to program their spending.

High ostentation rates besides means radical are having to walk more, portion savings are apt to beryllium eroded arsenic the outgo of goods is much than the involvement we're earning.

Low inflation, connected the different hand, means little prices and a greater likelihood of involvement rates connected savings beating the ostentation rate.

But if ostentation is excessively debased immoderate radical whitethorn enactment disconnected spending due to the fact that they expect prices to fall. And if everybody reduced their spending past companies could neglect and radical might lose their jobs.

See our UK ostentation guide and our Is debased ostentation good? usher for much information.

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