Sainsbury's sells Argos for 120 million pounds after purchasing it for 1.4 billion
British retail chain Sainsbury's has announced the sale of Argos for 120 million pounds as part of a strategic shift to focus on its core supermarket business. The deal, expected to close in February, follows the 2016 acquisition of the brand for 1.4 billion pounds.
The British chain Sainsbury's announced that it has reached an agreement to sell the Argos chain for 120 million pounds (161 million dollars), as part of a strategic decision to refocus on its supermarket business. Sainsbury's emphasized that despite the sale, "business will continue as usual" for customers, employees, and suppliers, and Argos will continue to operate within Sainsbury's branches.
The buyer is Swift Partners, a company established specifically for the acquisition of the brand by Richard Pennycook, Trevor Strain, and Matt Truman. Across the UK, there are 667 Argos branches operating — 201 independent stores and 446 operating within Sainsbury's branches. The deal is expected to close in February.
Sainsbury's acquired Argos in 2016 as part of the acquisition of all retail brands owned by Home Retail Group, including Habitat and Homebase, for 1.4 billion pounds. Argos was founded in 1973 and initially operated as a business where customers ordered products from a catalog. Today, Argos no longer prints its famous catalog, and all collections are available online.
Sainsbury's is the second-largest supermarket chain in the UK after Tesco, holding a market share of about 15%.
"Having rebuilt and strengthened our core business — the food business — this agreement allows us to focus all our resources and investments on the significant opportunities that lie ahead," said the company's CEO, Simon Roberts.
