Argos Argos  Re focussing

							Argos

   Re-focussing a company’s culture and marketing mix

Introduction
Argos is one of the UK’s largest non-food retail chains. In 1998, after poor results, it was taken over by GUS
plc. New managing director Terry Duddy then set out to improve its performance.

Changing business culture
The culture of a business is the values and beliefs shared across the organisation. Part of Terry’s job was to
change the culture at Argos. The culture he developed is one that values:
 customer service
 teamwork
 encouraging managers to take their own decisions
 respect for each other
 wanting to be competitive and improve.

Effective communication
These values were clearly communicated to employees, so that they felt more a part of the business. Argos
consulted with staff to build a good team, with team values such as:
 welcoming change
 being impatient to win
 having lots of opportunities
 working in teams

and has built these values into its culture. To help this change, Argos has provided on and off the job training,
good induction (introductory) training, promotion opportunities and performance targets.

Marketing mix
As well as changing the culture at Argos, managers changed the marketing mix. This has the traditional ‘Four
P’s’ plus other factors which Argos’ thought important.

   Product. Market research showed the Argos brand was seen as boring and stuffy. Argos modernised the
    brand with a new logo and new catchphrase: ‘Brighter Shopping’. It also widened its product range.
   Promotion. Argos advertises to different market segments. It divides its market by traditional ways but also
    uses ‘brand awareness’. The ‘get it’ group – who know and understand the brand – are used to help bring on
    board the ‘don’t get it’ group.
   Price. Argos keeps prices as low as possible.
   Place (distribution). Argos continues to open new shops. Its catalogue is a key part of its distribution
    system and is found in 70% of British homes.
   People. Argos provided good training for its staff as part of the culture change.
   Process. Alongside traditional shopping Argos introduced ‘Quick Pay’ and ‘Text and Take Home’.
    Customers’ text to see if an item is in stock, and then reserve it to collect later. ‘Quick Pay’ cuts down on
    queues by allowing customers to check availability, order and pay using credit or debit cards.
   Physical environment. Argos invested in improvements to make shops more attractive to customers.

Conclusion
Changes to Argos’s culture and marketing mix mean that Argos now out-performs the market as a whole.
Between 2002 and 2003 sales grew by 13% and profits by 17%.