Home Retail Group has seen an improvement in sales at its Argos chain, as a new fast-track delivery service delivering “significantly stronger” cash flow across the group.
HRG, which sold its Homebase chain to Australian group Wesfarmers, is currently being courted by Sainsbury’s and South African retail group Steinhoff in a bidding war for Argos.
Argos' like-for-likes dropped 2.6% in the year to 27th February but total sales increased 1.9% in the final eight weeks. John Walden, chief executive of Home Retail Group, said: "I am pleased with the continued improvement in Argos' sales performance in the period, together with the continued progress in the Argos Transformation Plan to become a digital retail leader.
“In October we introduced FastTrack - market-leading propositions for same-day home delivery and store collection. Since its introduction, customer awareness of FastTrack has continued to grow and its operations are improving, with both on-time delivery rates and customer satisfaction now at leading levels. “Along with FastTrack, the combination of our now proven digital concession model, together with improvements in digital experiences have driven increases in both digital sales and digital participation.”
