Anxious wait on future of Argos stores

6:10pm Wednesday 24th October 2012 in News

THERE is uncertainty over the future of the town’s two Argos branches after plans were announced to close or relocate at least 75 of the catalogue retailer's stores.

Home Retail Group, which owns Argos, is planning to make the changes over the next five years.

It has more than 700 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Two of them are in St Helens, one being on Church Street and another at the Ravenhead Retail Park.

The company's plans to change Argos into a digitally-led retailer.

A company spokeswoman could offer no news on what stores will be affected.

A statement read: “We are committed to a national and local spread of stores.

“We cannot at this stage give details on individual stores that will be affected by this because it will depend on lease negotiations at the time.”

Comments(19)

saintsfan says...
7:14pm Wed 24 Oct 12

Oh great. No doubt we'll end up having to go to Warrington.

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frankly says...
10:29pm Wed 24 Oct 12

lots do now..the town is DEAD

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smith&weston says...
10:32pm Wed 24 Oct 12

No doubt the town centre one will go and the retail park one will survive. Look forward to the arrival of a 98pence shop....

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domformula1 says...
1:42pm Thu 25 Oct 12

If the town centre one does go it seems that building is fated, people that trade there go under, Toy&Hobby, What Everyone Wants, now Argos, spooky

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Frankie Flintstone says...
2:00pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Digital trading is the future, if you have not noticed sites like EBay and expanding use of Pay Pal will eventually close all shops, many years ago I was informed "He who accepts change succeeds" and the internet is one of the changes shoppers will have to accept or do without, Luddite's attempted to prevent the industrial revolution but failed and the same applies to the internet accept it or be left behind.

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frankly says...
6:38pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Not everyone can have a computer Frankie......But its getting that way now in town, that its no shock seeing shop after shop close, yet other town centres seem to do better..Yes it is the councils fault by wearing blinkers for years when warrington and wigan moved on..those two still have retail parks, but the towns still has large national name shops.

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anthonywilson says...
10:35pm Thu 25 Oct 12

If one of the Argos stores is to close its bound to be the Town Centre one which is a real shame as I use it and it does seem to get a lot of custom.
Whilst there are obvious benefits to on line shopping both for the consumer and the businesses themselves in terms of cost savings I hope Argos have done the Maths because to take the likes of Amazon on will take some beating.

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chasmcn says...
7:51am Fri 26 Oct 12

Amazon is taking a lot of business from Argos with argos on the high street its over heads are bigger but the internet is now a way of life the high street will disappear not just in st helens but the rest of the country .Even the high street stores offer you discount to order off the internet as they move to reduce overheads from owing stores .

Amazon has just aquired a automated warehouse company that uses robots to pick its orders which dont need a break ,holidays ,mat leave do you like the way the world is heading how long will it be before 4 or 5 companies own everything in the world .

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keepitreel says...
11:35am Fri 26 Oct 12

how many times have you gone to buy something from argos only to be told it is out of stock,they then tell you branch A or B has so another journey to wigan or warrington to pick it up,buying online is so simple and less time comsuming,as for AMAZON i think they are now the biggest company in the world in this sector,cheap,fast and reliable,who likes being stuck in a que,being jostled and pushed,then having to carry a large,heavy item to your car,im sorry but the future in this type of retailing is on-line.

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frankly says...
9:48am Sat 27 Oct 12

But if everything is sold online, we wont have any closing shops to moan about will we.....I still like the odd bit of window shopping in the real world.You cant touch, feel or see an item fully on a computer screen. What next, dont go on holiday, we shall bring the sea, sun, and sand to you..LOL.

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Frankie Flintstone says...
11:19am Sat 27 Oct 12

Progress cannot be halted in this High Tech world I am in my 70's and can cope with Email, Internet Banking, internet purchasing, Skype and searching the Internet for best prices and many other things. Computers were not a part of my working life and I am self taught with a few lost tempers and threats of computer's going through the window but I stuck at it and enjoy being a Silver Surfer, you are never to old to learn so why not give it go.

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Sankey says...
6:08pm Sat 27 Oct 12

I have never understood the Argos model even before Amazon etc. Look at a tacky magazine and then frustrating queue to pay for then another to receive the goods.

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peterxu says...
12:37am Sun 28 Oct 12

Digital trading is the future.

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mattmxl says...
8:48am Mon 29 Oct 12

Digital trading is the present!

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frankly says...
3:24pm Mon 29 Oct 12

Frankie Flintstone..i am the same as you, same age group as well..I also knew nothing about these gadgets 10 yrs back, but have no problems now with all things modern.

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frankly says...
9:11pm Mon 29 Oct 12

those that hog the seats in the hardshaw 24/7 couldnt give a toss if all the shops shut, because most sat there dont spend anything..its an indoor derby and joan club

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saintsfan says...
9:19pm Mon 29 Oct 12

I don't have a grey hair on my head but I hardly ever buy online. I prefer to see and touch what I am buying, and I don't want to have to pay postage costs and rely on postal services either to deliver my goods (and invariably I won't be in when they arrive) or have the hassle of having to return faulty goods by post. I bought a TV a couple of weeks ago from Argos. It was cheaper than Comet. I went in, chose it, bought it, walked home with it and I was sorted within an hour. Can't do that online. Had it been defective, I could have returned it and brought a replacement home again within another hour. Can't do that online either. We're losing real choice if we focus too much on online purchasing.

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frankly says...
11:46pm Mon 29 Oct 12

i more or less said the same in Saturdays reply....And as for your timescale you are fully correct

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domformula1 says...
4:34pm Tue 30 Oct 12

saintsfan wrote:
I don't have a grey hair on my head but I hardly ever buy online. I prefer to see and touch what I am buying, and I don't want to have to pay postage costs and rely on postal services either to deliver my goods (and invariably I won't be in when they arrive) or have the hassle of having to return faulty goods by post. I bought a TV a couple of weeks ago from Argos. It was cheaper than Comet. I went in, chose it, bought it, walked home with it and I was sorted within an hour. Can't do that online. Had it been defective, I could have returned it and brought a replacement home again within another hour. Can't do that online either. We're losing real choice if we focus too much on online purchasing.
I've often wondered about this, isn't delivery / returns still the one big final barrier to complete domination of digital retail? Wonder if in the future we'll see same-day delivery services from private firms? Surely the only long term solution to the problem, at least it will provide some more employment if you've got a van license.

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