‘Absolute pain’ as high street giant to abruptly close another store in hours – shoppers say it ‘doesn’t make any sense’
A HIGH street giant is to abruptly close another store within hours in a move that shoppers have said “doesn’t make sense”.
Argos is closing its standalone store at Kettering Retail Park for the final time today.
However, the closure comes as it plans to relocate its services to Sainsbury’s in Rockingham Road tomorrow (November 22).
An Argos spokesperson said: “To make shopping more convenient for customers and to enable us to invest where it matters most, we are relocating many of our standalone Argos stores to Sainsbury’s – this includes our Kettering Argos store.
“On Wednesday, a brand-new Argos will open inside Sainsbury’s Kettering, enabling customers to purchase thousands of technology, home and toy products from Argos while picking up their groceries.
“We understand this will be an unsettling time for those affected and we are continuing to support them in every we can.
“This has included exploring opportunities for colleagues to redeploy to the new Argos store inside the supermarket or to other roles within Sainsbury’s.”
Reacting to the news on Facebook one shopper said: “Poor decision, Kettering Sainsbury’s is already too small and this will not help.
“Short-sighted from Argos/Sainsbury’s which will surely hit their profit margins. It will put me off going for sure.”
Another said: “And Argos wonder why they are losing money… The problem with moving into Sainsbury’s is they don’t hold a lot of stock so it’s not as convenient.
“May as well use Amazon.”
The popular retailer has already closed a number of its UK stores as part of its plan to move away from the high street.
Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury’s has a plan to close 100 stores across the UK in 2023/24 and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
It has already shut more than 45 branches in the last 12 months and opened up over 25 branches inside Sainsbury’s stores.
A spokesperson for Argos previously told The Sun: “The transformation of our Argos store and distribution network has been progressing at pace for several years now, improving availability, convenience and service for customers.
“As part of this we are continuing to open new Argos stores and collection points in many of our Sainsbury’s supermarkets, enabling customers to purchase thousands of technology, home and toy products from Argos while picking up their groceries.”
By March 2024, Sainsbury’s expects to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
The high street has been hit hard in recent years due to the growth of online shopping, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the same time the cost of living has been rising, leading to shoppers cutting back on non-essential spending.
Brick-and-mortar stores have also seen a lack of footfall due to consumer habits switching to online shopping.
Popular chains including M&Co, Paperchase and Wilko closed all stores in 2023.
It’s not just shops either, food and pub chains have also been hit, resulting in brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing.
However, some chains have managed to defy high street troubles and are actually set to open new shops.
These include discount chains like Poundland which is set to open 15 shops in the coming weeks and Greggs which is aiming to open 150 new sites this year.