Argos in town moving into Sainsbury's.

Malcolm

Well-Known Forumite
It's like a Russian doll. A shop within a shop. Consolidation. I think now we could have all the shops from the town centre within a shop. It could be called SainsArgoBootHindGuildall. Or maybe not.
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
There's an Argos inside Homebase Newcastle-U-L which looks very similar. Plenty big enough I guess - they don't need shop floor space - just storage. Many people nowadays already know what they want, and in many cases have already ordered it online. They just come in to pick up and go.
Exactly. Business models change over time as customer habits and attitudes change. Same with town centres. Why people find it hard to grasp I don't know.

It would be nice if the Argos on The Hough stayed open though, as it would avoid me having to go the wrong side of town to pick things up from Argos (he said purely out of self-interest).
 

Malcolm

Well-Known Forumite
Exactly. Business models change over time as customer habits and attitudes change. Same with town centres. Why people find it hard to grasp I don't know.

It would be nice if the Argos on The Hough stayed open though, as it would avoid me having to go the wrong side of town to pick things up from Argos (he said purely out of self-interest).
I can't see the Hough closing - that's where it should be. They're probably only putting a branch into Sainsbury's to draw people into the supermarket.
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
I can't see the Hough closing - that's where it should be. They're probably only putting a branch into Sainsbury's to draw people into the supermarket.

It makes a lot of sense to keep the both open - I suspect the one in saisbury's will keep a smaller amount of stock and you'll see more 'get it now from the Hough or collect it instore in 3 days from Sainsbury's). I live across the road from the Hough one and I've been known to reserve and item and then skip across to pick it up immediately I don't remember the last time I popped into argos 'on spec' to see if something was there.

The one at the Hough is almost always busy too
 

Malcolm

Well-Known Forumite
Easier for loading heavy/bulky items into the car at the Hough too. I wouldn't want to drag something all the way through the supermarket to the other side of the over-flow car park.
 

HopesDad

Don't feed the troll
It is the same model that dixons/currys/pc world/carphone warehouse have adopted. It does make some sort of sense - merge two (or three) failing stores into one and reduce the overheads. Argos actually needs very little shop floor space, only storage, and the amount they store is not as great as people think - only one or two of each of the more popular items. Must of it is order today collect tomorrow. By merging the Sainsbury's and Argos/habitat supply chains they can capitalize on that.
 
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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
If they use a common entrance, there is scope for some security issues e.g., with people walking out with Sainsbury's items as though it's Argos stuff that they've already paid for.
 

joshua

Well-Known Forumite
If they use a common entrance, there is scope for some security issues e.g., with people walking out with Sainsbury's items as though it's Argos stuff that they've already paid for.
I'm sure the highly trained security staff will be able to prevent this from happening
2367222-Security-guard-in-the-shopping-centre-0.jpg
 

c0tt0nt0p

Well-Known Forumite
If they use a common entrance, there is scope for some security issues e.g., with people walking out with Sainsbury's items as though it's Argos stuff that they've already paid for.
I would imagine they would use tape to show the purchased items if from Argos....
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
Exactly. Business models change over time as customer habits and attitudes change. Same with town centres. Why people find it hard to grasp I don't know.

It would be nice if the Argos on The Hough stayed open though, as it would avoid me having to go the wrong side of town to pick things up from Argos (he said purely out of self-interest).

Business models are not planned. They evolve according to the environment. The fact is online shopping is changing everything. Up to now the big problem has been delivery, particularly couriers who insist on a signature which breaks down if there's no-one at home, and the only way round this is to provide delivery points. But I notice many smaller shops and post offices in outer urban and rural area are now embroiling themselves in becoming pick up points, a lifeline perhaps ? Given this trend, will there ever be a need to go into a town centre at some future time ?
 

EasMid

Well-Known Forumite
He meant to put "I'm 99% absolutely certain" at the start of his post.
In fairness, he didn't actually say which new year.
 

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Let's hope that customers won't have to queue for Argos in Sainsbury's for as long as they have to for the checkouts.

Lunch hour rush? Better only have two checkouts open!

Fridays are a nightmare, it floods with old ladies from about noon. Fortunately, they never use the self-checkouts.
 
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