UK supermarket retailer Sainsbury's is planning to launch Argos click-and-collect points at 100 convenience stores in preparation for this year’s Christmas festive trading season.
The move is in line with the supermarket's strategy to operate 2,000 Argos click-and-collect points to withstand competition from rival retailer Amazon.
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Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe was quoted by media sources as saying: “Customers are demanding more and more flexibility and more speed in terms of the way they shop with us.
“We would argue very strongly that with the 2,000 points of presence, the great Argos digital capability and the supply chain that backs that up, and the fact that those businesses have access to 27 million customers a week, it gives us a reasonably powerful combination to compete in future.”
Last year, Sainsbury's acquired Argos’ parent company Home Retail Group for £1.4bn.
Sainsbury's currently operates 100 Argos ‘store-in-stores’ and intends to expand this to 150 by Christmas.
In order to provide collection points across the company’s own convenience store network, Sainsbury's is expected to use small independent retailers as click-and-collect points.
With a network of 809 convenience stores and 605 Sainsbury's supermarkets, the retailer is looking for ways to reduce operational costs.
It recently introduced same-day services from eight London stores.
As of March this year, the company reported profits before tax of £503m, which represents a decrease from £548m disclosed last year.
