ARGOS 2013 Product Placement

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sebo_fan

sebo_fan

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
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6,263
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Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2
What a shock - the latest from Argos - they've all become hip in-stores. Possibly trying to cash in on the premium market. Don't know how all stores will be able to get this fancy flooring and thin order screens. I notice though that Dyson seems to have got a product placement in this store - hope to god they're all nailed down!

http://https//maps.google.co.uk/map...11.71&gl=GB&t=m&z=17&cbll=51.525659,-0.090268
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Dyson will be paying for all that.

That's how. Retailing is now a two-way street. Manufacturers sell goods to retailers to sell; in return, retailers are leasing manufacturers premium floor-space for products, displays, stands, even demonstrators, be it Argos, Curry, Boots, or wherever. Also, they sell advertising space within their own literature. So you see, all those glossy intermediate pages in the Argos cataloge which showcase certain brands and their products, all of that is space which Argos sold to the manufacturer.

The high-street is very much about getting 'money in the till' at the moment.
 
Dyson spends a hell of a lot on marketing - but the customer always pays in the end through astronomically high prices. The high prices of a Dyson don't pay for quality, they pay for all the marketing and "technology research".


In contrast, the high price of a Kirby pays for quality and durability, and unfortunately the salesman's commission.


 


Those Dyson displays are also prominent in Tesco, Currys, Sainsbury's etc - they must spend millions on advertising - millions that gets added to the product's end price!
 
It is true that the customer pays, yet if they found a way to make the sales without all the advertising and R&D, I doubt the price would drop, as Dyson has very much found it's niche customer.

Also, I would be keen to know how any increase in sales from all the money they spend is measured.
 
Never

will Argos do that. They have captured too much custom at all ends of the markets. Added to which, there are a good deal of Argos stores in places where a premium retailer would never set up camp.
 
Im all for cheap brands, but if Argos are going for what the buyers are demanding etc, why else would they stock Dyson advertising - lets face it - we all know that Dyson vacs are hardly cheap. And Miele also sell at Argos.

Unless they open two different stores with premium only brands and thus bringing in cheaper ends for their normal stores. Looking at the first link I showed on here, seems to give the basic look of what Argos are promoting as "their new look stores," but I'm not entirely sure of the new look - it could be a turn off for those used to the cheap n cheerful appearance of their stores already.
 
I think

that the whole point of the Argos empire is still for consumer to use the catalouge at home, in order to make their selection before going in store. The store may have to look clean and modern, but I don't think consumers will give it too much thought.

Though some consumers may still view Argos as a little down-market, for me it has a neutral appeal for all budget and lifestyles, in the same way that one could say Ikea has. Argos have, particularity in latter years, always sold a good cross-section of good at all levels of price a quality. They seem to know their consumers well and seem to be thriving where so many other retailers have literally gone bust.
 
I did hear that Argos are going to get rid of the Catalogue within the next few years as they are making a 'digital' move. To be honest I don't know how Argos can still give away the Catalogues for free especially with the amount of pages in it. They must obviously use their sales to pay for all the catalogues.
 
In other words they will become just another mail order company. You can see they are heading there anyway with the amount of vacs they list that are not in  the catalogue and are not stocked in stores. Notice these items mostly have no customer reviews, suggesting that people want to look at the catalogue, and go and buy the product from a store that has in stock straight away, not have to wait days for the item to be delivered.


I really hope Argos don't do this, as many people still want to go out and buy an item the same day, without the inconvenience of having to wait several days for it to be either delivered to home or for store collection.
 
Well whatever they do

I think we can rest easy that they will be in business for many more years to come. They do seem to know what they are doing.

I too wonder what the catalouges must cost the company, but clearly whatever that figure is, it must still be a great return-on-investment, or else Argos would have ditched it many years ago, as soon as their on-line presence was felt.
 
Beckham, you must realise that a good many people are not online, and Argos need to cater for them. By ditching the catalogue they will be saying goodbye to a LOT of custom. I cant understand the mentality of these company bosses who think all and sundry have a good internet knowledge. Some people, especially the elderly and the poor most certainly don't.
 
I don't have any apps - they are used by the younger generation. I have to rely on my old fashioned desktop PC. I have a very cheap old fashioned Nokia mobile that doesn't have WAP or even a camera.
 
Its a Nokia 2310 and it was my mother's originally, but when I put my old one in the washer and ruined it, I had my mother's as I am not mobile phone savvy and wanted a cheap one that had a cheap tariff, so its on Asda smartprice Mobile lol
 
I have a couple of old Nokia handsets too. I refuse to get rid of them on the basis that they still work and I still have the old chargers for them. They're far more reliable than a lot of Smartphones on the market. Whenever I go away to another country I take one of those Nokia handsets with me. I have no interest in using the net on phones in general. I have used it through my Smartphone, but the battery life gets shot eventually after a day which is a nuisance.
 
My first phone was a Nokia 3310 and it would last over a week between charges, I'm stuck with my BlackBerry until my contract ends in Feb and I'll be getting an iPhone for sure I like social networking and email etc in my hand! Back on the original topic my local Argos stores have very often had Dyson's and Miele's in the shop window and inside on prominent display. I remember seeing the DC19 in the windows and thinking it was quiet ugly (bin too wide for the cyclones). I'm not a Dyson fan per say but they are a business and aim to say in business by returning a profit and their plan is working!
 
their plan is working!

Well you see, this is where the company known as Dyson fascinates me no end. Through selling a product which is both visibly and functionally different from others on sale, and through clever marketing, a whole new brand -indeed arguably a cult- has emerged. As well as this, the main sector of Dyson's core business -the vacuum cleaner market- has been given a shake up and is in such a position that Dyson really does have the upper-hand, given that his cleaners (not mentioning for now the price) are in many ways the best of a bad lot. In other words, through the 'brand' alone, the success of Dyson is, in my opinion, sealed for years to come.

To that end, I have to question exactly how much marketing and advertising the company now needs to do. Certainly they must spend a fortune on it. Then on top of that they have the help-desk open seven days a week from 7am until 10am, although I did read that Dyson is finally cutting back a little. Their aftercare is one thing I have never understood; why a manufacturer of product is offering a gold-plated package on something you have already paid for, particularly for the likes of Dyson who, for the reasons I have already listed, have consumers who are very likely to buy the same brand again anyway, irrespective of how good or bad the aftercare is. You would be hard-pressed to get that from a good deal of service providers where their business depends on your on-going custom, let alone a manufacturer.

Of course the counter-argument to my statement is that Dyson likes to be seen to be giving good service. I understand that as much as the next person, but to take that to a literal (if not ludicrous) conclusion, one could argue that Dyson could employ a team of cleaners to go into homes and push the vacuum around for anyone who is unable to do so, just because it is "good service". Would it make them money? Well on the surface, very likely not. In the same way I think they help-desk is nothing more than a drain on profits.
 
Dyson just isn't Dyson anymore...

Today, Dyson products have very poor build quality. Yet the market them so well, but the prices just don't match the build quality.


 


In my view, they stopped making good machines after the DC26, which was the worlds smallest cylinder and was also properly designed by Industrial designers who have had experiences of design in previous other company's. Hence why the build quality is much better than that newer 'ball' cylinders (which aren't even proper balls!)


 


The failure in Dyson's newer products is because of the increasing number University grads who have just come out of Uni, and have had NO experience of the 'real world' of industrial design. A good example of their poor designs would be on the DC40 and 41 cleaners. The wand system is not ergonomic as the actual handle doesn't come away like on previous Dyson upright machines such as the DC25. The handle coming away from the machine provides an ergonomic grip to hold onto.


 


Also, the newer Ball uprights and Ball cylinders aren't even balls, in fact, they don't even have any! They've done away with the ball, and put two half sphere shape wheels on, then a spherical shape 'core' where the motor and other components are held in. Proper Ball machines like the DC15, DC24, and DC25 actually have Balls that roll, and the ball is a full sphere, thus it is a PROPER ball cleaner.


 


By all means, have designers that have University qualifications, but don't give them a job when they've just graduated. The designers of previous Dyson products had Uni qualifications, but have had experience of previous design company's. Unfortunately, it seems as if we're loosing these designers from Malmesbury.


 


How on Earth Sir James can let poor design like on the DC41 get past him, I have no idea. No doubt we'll see even worse designs in the future...
 
But Tim - I seem to remember when you first joined VL, you took the mickey out of Vax as cheap and nasty and that the sun shone out of Dyson's backside - perhaps you have now seen the light and learnt the error of your ways


I would not touch a modern Dyson with a 40 foot bargepole - they are utter overpriced far eastern made crap, and that's putting it mildly. I just cant see what people see in them. I am sick and tired of the sheer number of nothing but Dysons on Ebay. The world has gone completely Dyson crazy, and see him as some kind of vacuum God!
 

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