Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland with over 700 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 – it is a catalogue merchant.

Argos owns several brands including Elizabeth Duke (jewellery, see below, but dropped in the latest catalogue), Mikomi Alba, Bush and Chad Valley and many others. Argos was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent but is now owned by Home Retail Group.

History

The Company was founded by Richard Tompkins who had 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, the first purpose-built store opening on the A28 Sturry Road, Canterbury in late 1973.

Argos launched with 1000 members of staff, taking £1,000,000 during a week in November. Argos was purchased by BAT Industries in 1979 for a deal worth £32 million. The following year, Argos opened its Elizabeth Duke jewellery counter (named after the director's wife) and by 1982 was the UK's 4th biggest jewellery retailer.

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

Argos publishes catalogues twice a year (a Spring/Summer edition in January and an Autumn/Winter edition in July), along with a smaller Christmas catalogue (in October). Current editions have well over 1500 pages (excluding the Christmas catalogue, which has a few hundred 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 and updated price information. Catalogues are complemented 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 proved 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. All items displayed in the Argos Home catalogue are also available in the main catalogue too. In August 2008, Argos launched a new look Argos Home catalogue, with a new premium look on premium glossy paper, and made the catalogue available in all stores. A new Argos Home Catalogue is now published four times a year, instead of two.

Shopping in Argos

Customers are able to browse through the catalogue at home or in-store or can view over 24,000 products on the company's website. The Argos product range spans thirteen different categories as follows; Kitchen & Laundry, Home & Furniture, Garden & DIY, Sports & Leisure, Health & Personal Care, Jewellery & Watches, Gifts & Hobbies, Home Entertainment & Sat Nav, Video Games, Photography, Office PC’s & Phones, Toys & Games and Nursery.

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, sooner if staff override the system or later if there is a delay in the stockroom. Many stores have a jewellery counter, where customers may view jewellery before purchasing and where specialist jewellery sales can take place such as rings and personalised jewellery. All stores also have the facility to remove links from watches purchased at Argos to ensure the correct sizing.

Quick Pay kiosks are available in all stores. Using a touchscreen terminal, customers can enter their catalogue numbers, pay by credit, debit or Argos store card and be issued with a receipt without the intervention of a cashier. Argos are currently trialing 'Select and Pay' kiosks, these are located on the browser desks. This allows customers to choose and pay without having to move around the store.

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 has traditionally been e-mailed to the customer but can now be sent in a free text message direct to the customers mobile phone. Once in store, this reservation number can either be 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.

An increasingly important part of the Argos business is its website. The majority of the 18,000 catalogue products (excl. some jewellery items) are available to either check and reserve or buy for home delivery through Argos Direct from the website along with some 6,000 further ‘internet only’ products. The Argos website was the most visited high street retail website in 2008 (according to Hitwise UK).

On May 29, 2007, Apple released version 7.2 of its iTunes software, allowing users to purchase DRM-free music and music videos from participating labels. These new files, available through the iTunes Store, have been called iTunes Plus music by Apple.

As well as argos.co.uk, Argos now offers a large range of DVDs and CDs through its new entertainment site Argosentertainment.co.uk. All items on the site include free delivery. A range of pay monthly contract mobile phones are also available through argospaymonthlymobiles.co.uk.

Argos also operates a returns policy, whereby for most products if the customer changes their mind, they may within 30 days of purchase return an item, in its original undamaged and unused condition, to any Argos store with their receipt for a refund or an exchange. There are exceptions to this returns policy, such as earrings and footspas which cannot be returned unless faulty due to hygiene reasons, games and software due to copyright reasons, and MP3 players, digital cameras, games consoles, satellite navigation units and digital television receivers due to customer security. Customers are advised to check the Argos website before making a return to ensure such products are returnable. Non-returnable products are marked clearly in the catalogue and on the website.