- Sainsbury’s announces expansion plans for Argos and Habitat
London, 2017-Apr-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Today (13 April 2017), Sainsbury’s opens its 50th Argos Digital store in a Sainsbury’s supermarket. The opening marks an important milestone in the retailer’s strategy to be a multi-product, multi-channel retailer, serving customers quickly and conveniently whenever and wherever they want to shop.
- Plan to transform 60 existing Argos stores to new digital format
- Sainsbury’s to open 10 further Mini Habitat stores in its supermarkets
- As 50th Argos Digital store opens in Kiln Lane, Epsom, Surrey
Sainsbury’s has moved rapidly to open 50 Argos Digital stores since the acquisition of Argos and Habitat seven months ago and has committed to opening 250 over three years. Argos also announced today that it plans to transform 60 stand-alone stores to the digital format. This will mean that over a third of the Argos store estate is digital in a year’s time, helping customers benefit from a fast and convenient store experience. Argos digital collection points are also available to customers in 90 Sainsbury’s stores for customers to Click & Collect Argos parcels.
Following the launch of the first Mini Habitat concession in in Nine Elms, London, in October 2016, the seventh Mini Habitat opened today alongside the 50th Argos Digital store at Sainsbury’s Kiln Lane in Epsom, Surrey, giving customers the opportunity to buy Habitat products both in-store and via in-store iPads. Sainsbury’s also announced it plans to open another 10 Mini Habitats during this financial year, which will help the company to assess the full potential of the Mini Habitat format in Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
Argos Chief Executive Officer, John Rogers, said: “The opening of our 50th Argos Digital store just seven months after we acquired the company shows we are moving ahead at pace with our strategy. Our cutting-edge digital capability is a core strength of our business and our decision to transform 60 Argos stores by March next year moves our strategy on further. Over a third of the store estate will now benefit from cutting-edge digital technology that will improve the customer experience, making shopping faster and more convenient.”
Customers increasingly appreciate the benefits of shopping at both Sainsbury’s and Argos under one roof and there is a clear uplift of one to two per cent on sales from Argos customers shopping for Sainsbury’s food, general merchandise and clothing products. Argos Digital stores located in Sainsbury’s supermarkets that have been open for more than a year are delivering 20 to 30 per cent like-for-like sales growth.
Over half of all Argos sales originate online. Its leading digital capability is an important differentiator and is key to its future strategy
At over 76,000 sq ft, the flagship store at Kiln Lane is one of the largest in the retailer’s estate and demonstrates how Sainsbury’s is using its space to offer customers choice and convenience, with over 90,000 products and a range of popular services under one roof. In addition to the new 2,100 sq ft Argos Digital store and the 1,790 sq ft Mini Habitat, the store also boasts the latest Sainsbury’s Food Hall format and the full range of general merchandise and Tu clothing. Carefully chosen concession partners include Timpsons and Sushi Daily.
Contact:
press_office@sainsburys.co.uk
020 7695 7295
Source: Sainsbury’s
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