Argos Getting Ready for New EU Regulations

[spiraclean]

That did make me chuckle as well. The commenter obviously has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, yet what he says isn't entirely untrue either. A good friend of mine is a merchandiser for JL, and some of the customer stories he tells me are ridiculous.

Anyway: Argos. It's true that some of the stores are looking a little tired. The fit-out is obviously done on the cheap, which is why it soon appears rough around the edges, and stacking product on the shop floor in boxes makes the place look like a cash and carry. I understand that it is done to encourage impulse buys - you can take the item straight to the till, rather than selecting it from the catalogue and waiting at the collection point - but the stores did look much neater when they had a limited number of items on display with the actual stock being held behind the scenes.

They have to be doing something right however, because the two branches near me are always packed. Even when busy, they keep things moving along at a steady pace and by the time you've paid and collected you can be in and out within ten minutes. It's not comparable to a fancy department store by any means, but then it was never supposed to be. People don't go to Argos to be fawned over, they go there to quickly pick up the item they need without having to go through the usual sales rigmarole.

With regard to the stock situation, I've always personally felt that the items available for collection or delivery at a later date are an addition to the core range held in stock at each store. The alternative would be to not offer those products at all, which would severely limit the choices available to those who don't necessarily need it that very same day. Probably not so much an issue if your nearest branch is a big one like Thurrock, but it would be a bit of a bummer for those with a smaller, remote branch like Stornoway!

 

[hoovermatic]

I like John Lewis

 

[spiraclean]

Don't get me wrong, I like them too for certain things. The comments on the Mail article are obviously a sweeping statement (no surprise there) and tar all JL customers with the same brush. I think he could have done with using the word "some" when referring to their clientele, and maybe rounded the edges a bit. Even then it's guaranteed to offend someone, which was probably the intention all along. The blatant snarkiness, with no attempt at even thinly veiling it, is what made me laugh in the first place.

This does however remind me of a department store I used to work for, which often attracted a certain type of customer who would only buy their electricals from us, because it wouldn't be seen as "fitting" for them to shop at Currys or Comet. Very nice and all that, but really we used to get all sorts in. For every customer who insisted on a Miele and paid for it on their platinum card, there were ten others who were buying an Indesit on credit and collecting it themselves from the warehouse round the back. I'm assuming the same applies at John Lewis too.

 

[sebo_fan]

Dont forget though how, many franchises do Freenet have in comparison to Argos? You simply can't compare a national retailer like Argos with an independent.

 

[madabouthoovers]

I'm not bothered sebo_fan. I don't care how many franchises it has, if the prices are cheaper I will buy from Freenet. They sell what I want, and at a price I want to pay, which Argos don't, and nor do John Lewis.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well, for me stuck in Scotland others who might not be able to get machines delivered from Freenet, there's Argos.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

I hope Argos dosen't become online only, I love going into the store & checking stock then waiting for collection. My local store had a refit a few years ago, it was a completely different place by the time it was finished, lot more modern. Lovely & helpful staff, in mine anyway.

However, the store in the nearby town hasn't had a refit since 1999, it's old, tired, outdated & looks like a cash & carry, with the staff to match.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Don't forget, HiLo, - some of Argos's staff are unpaid and have to be there as a part of receiving their benefits by the jobcentre (Workfare), or they are young people on unpaid "work experience" so its little wonder they don't really want to give their best to Argos and its customers.

[this post was last edited: 5/14/2014-17:58]

 

[hi-loswitch98]

The local stores staff are nice. I think it's just the area in the other town.

 

[vintagerepairer]

To be picky...

"many of Argos's staff are unpaid and have to be there as a part of receiving their benefits by the jobcentre"

'Many' is not a word which is easily quantifiable, nor is "good deal", a phrase I tend to use a good deal of the time. Like then. But it means very little, it merely suggests perhaps a disproportionate quantity. Thus I for one am not going to assume that "many" means "practically all" and then again, It's not everyone who things workfare is wrong.

I doubt there are franchises of Freenet, if anything they are more likely to be a chain if there is more than one of them, but of course few retailers are franchisees, they are chains, like Currys, Argos, Asda, and so on. Franchisees are typically aimed at the service industry.

Spiraclean - I liked your anecdote about the department store customers. I married a woman who was House of Fraser mad. If it wasn't from there, she didn't want to know, and for her ridiculous snobbery she actually worked in the buying office at Great Universal Stores for a good deal of time. But Argos was a no-no as it lacked finesse and style, and the mere fact it had a catalogue meant she associated it with the "club book" organisations she worked for.

 

[madabouthoovers]

I think Freenet is a franchise - part of the Euronics group.


 


Actually - edit - I don't think they are part of Euronics having just looked further into it - they must be an independent.

[this post was last edited: 5/14/2014-18:27]

 

[vintagerepairer]

Too true they do. I'd sooner that than people live on welfare and do nothing at all to earn it.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Euronics

They are certainly a strange one. Their website describes the stores as agents, not franchisees. I'm not splitting hairs, merely saying that the set-up must have some notable differences.

 

[sebo_fan]

Euronics have a bad habit of running out of stock between what they have online and offline, in my experience.

In my experience they are no better than Argos or Currys. They have a few branches in Scotland and of the ones I've visited, they're always out of a lot of the brands they have on their website. However, as one of the early exclusive companies, SEBO have upped their range with the Pro series of X and K series vacs as well as the classic red exclusive X1.1 that Euronics have always had, but now only appears to sell the white model now. Their prices are good and they are often cheaper than Argos or John Lewis but if you can't buy it and have to wait for it compared to high street shops that get stock in quicker, then there's really no point unless you have all the time in the world.

For most buyers, not collectors, leaving it to the last minute to buy a new vacuum cleaner doesn't just come down to price, but also if the model is in stock at the time of purchase.