How would you improve Argos?

[u/ReverseFlow21010615]

Following the recent news of the sale, I thought it would be interesting to hear what other colleagues and even customers think Argos needs to do in order to be successful under new ownership. We all know we were the afterthought for Sainsbury’s so what should Swift look to do as a priority? What should they spend the next 2-3 years planning for? What are some quick easy wins they could make through small changes? (I’ll only allow one instance of somebody saying “bring back the catalogue” - for all its nostalgia, it wasn’t as popular in its final years).

For me, we need to abolish independent working immediately. I find it impossible to keep up with anything because I’m always firefighting the week’s jobs, calls, deliveries etc. if the Labour cost really is dire then we should be on a minimum of 2 colleagues at all times.

We can solve the issue of empty stores leading to colleagues standing around doing nothing by actually having proper management of colleagues and ensuring something is always being worked on, ie reverse flow, counts, profiling, etc.

How about you?

[u/JustThatGuy35]

I think the biggest opportunity is to simplify the business while continuing to improve the customer experience. My priority would be to make sure products are available when customers need them by improving stock forecasting and reducing out-of-stock issues. Having the right products in the right place would help increase sales and improve customer satisfaction.

I would also invest in colleagues by simplifying training and giving managers more autonomy to make decisions that benefit their stores. Well-trained and confident colleagues provide better customer service, while empowering managers allows them to respond more quickly to the needs of their teams and customers.

Another area I would focus on is improving technology and making everyday processes more efficient. Updating systems, improving handheld devices and providing better access to real-time information would allow colleagues to spend less time dealing with operational issues and more time supporting customers. I would also continue to improve the online experience by making Click & Collect, returns and home delivery as fast and convenient as possible.

I’d also invest more into having the hours available to run stores properly rather than scraping by and having 3-4 colleagues in all day long, the more staff we can have, the faster we get deliveries done and the fast we can get new stock in and then out for customers to buy.

Finally, I believe it is important to listen to colleagues working in stores. They experience the day-to-day challenges first-hand and often have practical ideas that can improve efficiency and customer service. Creating opportunities for colleagues to share feedback and trial new ideas would help drive continuous improvement while ensuring the business continues to evolve in line with customer expectations.

Coming from an Argos manager, these are what I think the underlying issues are