Argos, Britain’s biggest household goods retailer, suprised analysts with a welcome boost in profits after
strong Christmas sales. Suggesting profits of around £10million ahead of the £73million expected and revealing
that online sales now account for 42 per cent of its total sales.
Argos which operates two popular eBay stores - Argos Outlet eBay Store & Argos Seconds eBay store
has seen an increase of more than double in online orders via mobile platforms. Argos will also attribute some of the recent success
to the trouble free roll-out of its "click & collect" service which saw its share of sales increase to 31% of
total sales.
Terry Duddy, chief executive of Argos' parent, Home Retail Group, said the strong sales meant the group's pre-tax
profits were on course to beat forecasts. He said profits could be £10m higher than the £73m previously expected on
average by market analysts.
