High street store set for supermarket

A household name is set to quit Blackpool's high streets with a move into a sister company's store.
Argos on Albert Road,Blackpool which is set to close in the coming weeksArgos on Albert Road,Blackpool which is set to close in the coming weeks
Argos on Albert Road,Blackpool which is set to close in the coming weeks

The Argos shop at the Hounds Hill Centre in Albert Road is set to close in April but customers can still use the Blackpool Business Park Argos store or the new outlet which will be at the Talbot Gateway.

The company has announced it will instead open a “digital” concession store within the Sainsbury’s supermarket at Talbot Road.

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Bosses said talks are under way with the staff at Albert Road but they hoped to transfer most to the new outlet.

The company said the new store will open in April and was part of the group’s new strategy to offer more choice to shoppers.

In a statement it said: “It will offer thousands of popular products for immediate pickup.

“Some 20,000 products can also be ordered to collect in store within hours and 20,000 extra products can be ordered for home delivery.

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“There will also be an eBay collection point so buyers can either collect their Ebay purchases or arrange for Argos to deliver them.”

The move comes after Sainsbury’s bought up the Home Retail Group, which owns Argos and Habitat, in a £1,4bn deal which was finalised in September last year.

At the time, Sainsbury’s said it would open 30 new Argos concessions in its stores, joining the 20 that have been trading for more than a year, as it kicked off the integration of its new acquisition.

It threw a cloud over between 200 and 300 jobs nationally at the branches, among the 739 Argos stores which it now owns.

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David Mills, a spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “We are really thrilled to welcome Argos and its team to our store.

“The new shop is great news for customers, who are looking for easier, more convenient ways to shop.

“We’re looking forward to offering them an increased range of products at great value, all under one roof.”

He added that the combination of Sainsbury’s and Argos will enable customers to shop conveniently through different online, mobile and store methods.