Home Retail Group plc

The Home Retail Group was founded in 2000 and is now the UK’s leading home and general merchandise retailer. They sell consumer goods through their main stores Argos and Homebase.

History of the Home Retail Group

• In 1998 the group acquired Argos. Argos was the largest general consumer goods retailer in the UK. The store is different in that unlike other major retailers, the main ways of displaying all the goods on sale is through a catalogue. Argos publishes catalogues twice a year. Argos was purchased by GUS plc in 1998 and at the time had around 435 stores focusing primarily on the areas of jewellery, toys, electricals and housewares.
  
  
• In 2000 the group started a financial services operation that offered a range of credit and insurance products to Argos customers.
  
  
• In 2002 Home base was acquired by GUS plc. Homebase is a home improvement store and garden centre and was founded by Sainsbury’s supermarket. It was sold in November 2002 and formed part of the Argos Retail Group. It had 272 stores but after the acquisition was expanded to increase its product portfolio. The group began to focus on increasing sales in common product areas such as indoor and outdoor furniture, house wares, gardening products and power tools.
  
  
• 2003 saw the launch of Argos Extra 17,000 SKU catalogue and 2004 saw the launch of Homebase Furniture Extra.
  
  
• In 2005 Home Retail Group acquired 33 Index Stores. Argos online sales reached £1 billion. The Group has market leading positions in a wide range of product categories, house wares, small domestic appliances, toys and sports and leisure equipment.
  
  
• October 2006 saw the Home Retail Group demerge from parent company GUS PLC. GUS was a long established UK conglomerate founded in 1900 and was positioned around their three major businesses, Experian, the Home Retail Group and Burberry. The Home Retail Group became a standalone independent business and a FTSE 100 company in its own right in 2006.

The Home Retail Group Today

The Home Retail Group has emerged in the retail industry to become a leading consumer goods supplier. It has its headquarters in Milton Keynes with over a 100 stores in the UK and Ireland. It currently employs around 53,000 people.

The two main retail brands Argos and Homebase allow the Home Retail Group to reach a broad range of customers. This has resulted in sales of over £5.8 billion in the last financial year and has established the Home Retail Group as the leading home and general merchandise retailer in the UK.