Sainsbury’s has issued an update after confirming plans to shut up to 20 Argos stores. Sainsbury’s, which acquired Argos in 2016, confirmed sales fell 6.2% in the 16 weeks to June 22 due to weaker demand for consumer electronics and gaming products.
The retailer, which is rivalled by the likes of Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Lidl and Aldi, confirmed sales at the catalogue retailer fell 6.2% in the 16 weeks to June 22. It comes after Sainsbury’s announced plans to shut between 15 and 20 standalone Argos stores when it published its annual report earlier this year.
It said at the time: “In total, for 2024/25, we expect to open three supermarkets and around 25 new convenience stores, with four supermarkets and three to five convenience stores to close. In addition, we expect to open around ten Argos stores inside Sainsbury’s and close around 15-20 Argos stand-alone stores.”
READ MORE Horrified Brits in Spain and Greece warned to stay indoors ‘in middle of day’
Since March 2023, Sainsbury’s has reduced the number of standalone Argos stores by 72, down to 213 from 385. However, it has increased the number of Argos stores within Sainsbury’s supermarkets by 22 – from 424 to 446.
Argos’s owner added: “We expect the stand-alone Argos store estate will reduce to around 190 stores by March 2025 and we expect to have 450–460 Argos stores inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets as well as 480–500 collection points.”
Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said in a statement this morning (Tuesday July 2): “We are pleased with our market-beating grocery performance. We’ve been winning from competitors every month for 15 months, as more and more people are choosing Sainsbury’s for their big weekly shop.
“We are laser focused on delivering the best combination of value and quality in the market and our customers are recognising that with 98% of big baskets including Nectar Prices or Aldi Price Match.”