The home and furniture categories were among Argos’ top performers in the past six months.
The chain saw sales drop by 7.3% in the 28 weeks to 18 September but were up 2.7% on 2019. ‘In line with the market, recent performance has been impacted by supply challenges, unseasonal weather and lower demand for home office equipment and technology in the second quarter. Our consumer electronics and home and furniture categories performed well,’ says Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s chief executive.
Some 83% sales are generated online, up from 61% two years ago.
36 stand-alone Argos stores were closed in the period and 37 opened within Sainsbury’s supermarkets. ‘More than half of Argos stores are in Sainsbury’s supermarkets, making it easier for customers to shop for general merchandise. Habitat is now our main home and furniture brand and is available in 610 Sainsbury’s stores and online via the Argos and Habitat websites. This has helped us grow our overall furniture market share over the past two years. We launched a new Habitat brand commitment – ‘make your home a happy habitat’ to help reposition the brand as affordable and accessible for all.’