No word on the future of Highland shops as retail group announces a 420-store cull
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Catalogue retailer Argos has yet to reveal if its standalone Highland stores in Inverness and Wick are among the 420 set to close over the next three-and-a-half years.
The Argos group was bought by supermarket chain Sainsbury's in 2016 and the cost-saving move will see 350 Argos stores or collection point outlets open in Sainsbury's supermarkets and convenience stores. The Nairn branch of Sainsbury's already includes a within store Argos outlet.
The company has said this will reduce the requirement for Argos standalone stores, resulting in the closure of 420 branches. This includes 120 stores throughout the UK which closed at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in March. These stores will remain closed permanently.
The move will result in the number of Argos standalone stores throughout the UK falling to around 100 by March 2024, making the business a projected £600 million saving.
However, the company has also reported strong sales since the start of the coronavirus crisis, and has gained almost two million new or returning customers.
Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts said: "Over the next three years we will make Argos a simpler, more efficient and more profitable business while still offering customers great convenience and value and improving availability.
"We are talking to colleagues today about where the changes we are announcing in Argos standalone stores impact their roles. We will work really hard to find alternative roles for as many of these colleagues as possible and expect to be able to offer alternative roles for the majority of impacted colleagues.”
The company has also announced changes within its Sainsbury's stores with the closure of all its meat, fish and deli counters, which it said was a response to changing shopping habits.
Although staff affected will be offered alternative positions where possible, the company has acknowledged that alternative roles may not be in a suitable location or offer suitable hours and estimated some 35,000 jobs could be lost as a result of the proposals.
However, the group has also predicted a net increase in the number of new jobs at the group of 6000 by the end of the financial year.
