
Argos to stop printing catalogue after almost 50 years - rbanffy
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/30/argos-to-stop-printing-catalogue-after-almost-50-years
======
rahimnathwani
For those not from the UK, who don't know how Argos operates:

1\. Browse a paper catalogue with thousands of items (audio equipment, kitchen
accessories, jewellery, toys, ...).

2\. Write down the 7-digit code for each item you want to buy, on a slip of
paper.

3\. Go to the nearest Argos store (there are many).

4\. Queue (line up).

5\. Hand the paper to the cashier and pay for the items.

6\. Wait ~5 mins until your order number is called, then collect your items.

(Everything is in a warehouse behind/below the store.)

This how it worked almost 40 years ago when I first shopped there. Today, it's
very similar, except that:

\- you can reserve online, so you don't have to worry about an item being out
of stock

\- you can pay extra and have the items delivered

\- they have a much thicker catalogue, with many items that are delivery-only
(similar to any other online retailer)

~~~
bluehatbrit
When I was growing up they had these little devices by the catalogues in the
shop as well. You could go in, flip through the catalogue and find something,
then type in the code the this device and see how many were left in stock. My
brother and I would each try to find an item with the highest amount of stock.

The idea of walking into a shop, seeing everything they had while standing in
one place, and then finding out how much stock they had was magical as a child
in the late 90's/early 2000's. It also meant you wouldn't queue up to pay
unless you knew the item was in stock which saved a lot of time. Sometimes the
queues got pretty huge on a Saturday just because of the sheer range of items.

~~~
globular-toast
Yeah, I liked the stock checker devices. I would just type in random digits to
see if I could find a valid code. Also I sometimes stole one of the little
blue pens.

~~~
dan1234
I'm sure everyone in the UK has at least one Argos pen and Ikea pencil
somewhere!

------
bArray
Damn, it really feels like something is about to be lost here. As a child,
crawling the Argos catalogue, day dreaming about saving up for some tacky
product was somewhat wholesome. At Christmas I remember arguing over looking
through the book at Christmas!

For me it caused me to realize the value of different items, especially saving
up from a paper-round and having to hand over weeks of hard-earned cash for
some goods.

~~~
deanclatworthy
I can relate. Countless hours reading the whole Argos catalogue (and I mean
the whole thing, minus women's jewellery). To those who grew up outside the
UK, Argos is an icon in the retail space. This is the end of an era, as they
just become another Amazon.

~~~
aclelland
Ah yeah, the Argos catalogue. I used to walk past their stores on my way to
work. You'd see hundreds of them on pallets outside the store for people to
take. By the end of each day the pile would always be much smaller as they
were pretty popular.

During lockdown here in the UK I've used Argos quite a few times and I've been
pretty impressed with their service. I've got same day deliveries on a whole
bunch of items which Amazon were going to take 3-4 days to deliver (even on
prime).

That and not having to trawl through hundreds of cloned products and not
knowing if reviews are legitimate, it was a pretty relaxing process.

~~~
rahimnathwani
> I've got same day deliveries on a whole bunch of items > which Amazon were
> going to take 3-4 days to deliver > (even on prime).

During the early part of lockdown, there was a period of several weeks when
Wahl hair clippers were impossible to find in Argos (online or store) or
Amazon.co.uk, even though many similar models were plentiful here in the US
(and even being sold at a discount).

It was a frustrating experience searching on the Argos web site (as you can't
filter out items which aren't in stock locally). But the popular models came
in stock at Argos before they did at Amazon.co.uk (at least first party,
regular price).

------
djhworld
It's definitely sad, but nostalgia often is, I think the last time I had an
Argos catalogue in the house was probably more than 20 years ago! It's a good
time to retire the thing, less paper going to waste.

Very warm memories of leafing through that thing as a child though, I
distinctly remember being fascinated by the digital watch pages full of
Casio's and other watches that did all sorts of unnecessary nonsense (TV
remote watch, anyone?) - but as a child these pages were full of desire.

In some ways the catalogue shopping experience seemed better than what
internet shopping is like today, leafing through the pages or flipping to
relevant, organised section of the book to look at the things just felt, I
dunno, slower, more pleasurable? Might be that nostalgia kicking in, but
looking at Amazon.co.uk now there's no 'window shopping' experience at all,
it's the same UI as they had in 2000 just with a bit of paint on it. Rows and
rows of products displayed on a grid, sometimes clones of products put
directly next to each other, not really clear who you are buying from until
you read the small print on the product page.

~~~
isp
> unnecessary nonsense (TV remote watch, anyone?)

Ah, the Casio CMD-40, pictured as item #14 on
[http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/1995-96.html#page=100](http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/1995-96.html#page=100)

This has been my daily driver watch, non-stop every single day, since the
1990s.

When I first wore it, it was "futuristic". Now it is "retro" or "vintage".

Answers to FAQs:

\- Yes, really.

\- Yes, the remote control still works.

\- Yes, even with brand new smart TVs.

\- There is a reference list of TV manufacturers, and you have to select a
code per manufacturer (e.g., LG / Sony / etc). For basic functionality (e.g.,
volume up, power off), this hasn't changed since the 1990s.

\- The VHS remote control functionality is still present, but I haven't used
it for decades.

\- For new-fangled things like DVD players (or even smart TVs), any remote
control button can be "learned" \- i.e., point the manufacturer's remote at
the watch, press a button, and tell the watch to remember and mimic what it
just saw.

\- It was only "recently" no longer manufacturered new, and this isn't the
same one that I first wore in the 1990s.

\- The strap and battery have been replaced, but otherwise I've owned the
current one since new.

\- Like graphics calculators, the sale price hasn't ever dropped. Even into
the 2010s, it was still possible to buy for ~£40. Now that it is not
manufactured anymore, it has become an _appreciating_ asset (see, e.g., eBay,
where "new" condition watches are routinely sold for >£90).

\- OK, here's a picture.
[https://imgur.com/ivmBFaa](https://imgur.com/ivmBFaa)

~~~
timothevs
Wow what a trip down memory lane. Thank you for sharing!

I bought the Nintendo Donkey Kong Jr from here
-[http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/1986-87.html#page=275](http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/1986-87.html#page=275),
as well as Snoopy Tennis back in ’87, and I still have both.

My son and play it every other day. Amazing stuff. :)

------
dijit
Someone has gone to the trouble of scanning many of them, going back to 1975

[http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/](http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/)

~~~
wensley
Wow, that is fantastic, and presented in a really nice way with those turning
pages. I wonder who owns it, if you remove the dev. from the start of the url
it redirects to argos.co.uk

This would be great as a full screen tablet app / site.

~~~
wensley
It seems like it is owned by argos, the cookie warning comes from a sainsburys
domain which is the parent company.

------
MrsPeaches
Wow, the memories!

Me and my brother used to play a game where you could choose one item you
would want on every page, but you had to start from the beginning of the
catalogue.

Going through the the household section was like quickly eating your greens
before you got to the delicious dessert of toys!

------
galeos
You can browse the archive of catalogs here[1]

Revisiting the catalogs from when I was a kid I am struck at both the small
range of toys available (of which I can remember almost every one!) and the
high prices...

[1][http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/](http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/)

~~~
robin_reala
This page has an almost Proustian quality:
[http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/1988-89.html#page=300](http://dev.argosbookofdreams.co.uk/1988-89.html#page=300)

~~~
twic
I was in awe of that Starcom bomber. Despite the fact that we didn't get the
Starcom cartoon in the UK!

------
thedrbrian
Here's a quick video on the Argos catalogue for our overseas readers
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggOa9aSG-
Ow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggOa9aSG-Ow)

------
kypro
I must have spent hours going through that catalogue as a kid. I still
remember the excitement of getting a new catalogue and going through it with
my sister. I think it was the unknown of what you might find that made it fun.
We'd spend hours circling things in different coloured pens to let our parents
know what we wanted for our birthdays and Christmas.

I suppose this move makes sense - everyone has access to the online catalogue
now. I can't remember the last time I used a physical Argos catalogue,
although I still go to the Argos store every few months.

It's probably mostly nostalgia, but I can't help but feel something has been
lost. You don't browse an online store like you do a catalogue. Online you
need to search or filter based on what you think, that sense of unknown and
surprise isn't really there anymore. In fact I've never had a shopping
experience online that comes anywhere near that satisfaction of browsing a
physical catalogue of items. It's certainly more functional and practical, but
it's also more bland. I find a lot of things to be like that online.
Interactions feel less fulfilling, reading feels less enjoyable, pictures look
less "real". Perhaps it's just me, but there is something inherently
disconnected about how we interact with the world through a screen.

------
66d8kk
Given the number of Argos stores I always thought Amazon would have swept in
3-5 years ago and bought them as a step closer to "last mile delivery" in the
UK.

~~~
sleepychu
Their current owners (Sainsbury's) might be resistant to that since Amazon is
intent on competing in groceries.

They do have a deal with eBay to offer parcel pickup point services.

~~~
66d8kk
Ah! I didn't know Sainsbury's owned Argos.

As we all know our high streets are failing hard, I always pictured (given big
enough tax breaks) old/traditional high street companies (Curry's / House of
Fraser etc...) would literally just have shop fronts much like Argos for click
and collect with a smallish warehouse (but only order online) - entice punters
into towns for click and collect while boosting smaller/local businesses
(restaurants/coffee shops / boutiques etc...)

I have a feeling C19 has well and truly punched the nail in the high street
coffin.

~~~
OJFord
> I have a feeling C19 has well and truly punched the nail in the high street
> coffin.

'Cxx' usually means the 'Xth century', by the way. (Even this year, with
context, that briefly confused me as I wondered what the 1800s did to the high
street and how bustling it was before!)

~~~
swilliamsio
Interesting. Where are you from? I've never seen that syntax for centuries
before.

~~~
stordoff
I've seen it used somewhat often in the UK (almost entirely in academia as far
as I can recall), at least frequently enough that I've used it in my own
writings despite not studying history.

At a quick search, I can find a couple of sources that suggest it for
notetaking at least:

* University of Portsmouth (listed under "Common general abbreviations") [https://www.port.ac.uk/student-life/help-and-advice/study-sk...](https://www.port.ac.uk/student-life/help-and-advice/study-skills/research-reading-referencing-and-citation/helpful-abbreviations-for-speedy-note-taking)

* University of South Australia (under "Common symbols and abbreviations") [https://lo.unisa.edu.au/pluginfile.php/1687781/mod_resource/...](https://lo.unisa.edu.au/pluginfile.php/1687781/mod_resource/content/0/Abbreviations%20for%20note%20taking_Sept_2017.pdf)

------
olodus
As a swede I am guessing this is like how we joke about there always being an
IKEA/Biltema catalog in all bathrooms.

------
ikse11
A podcast episode about the catalogue:
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05z4pb5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05z4pb5)

------
ggm
Comet. Same model of shop. I got a belt drive turntable kit, kept it for
years. Funny thing: you flicked the motor in to life to make sure it spun the
right way. My backstop broke.. i could play records backwards. Speed shift was
moving the belt on bigger or smaller pulley wheels. Great deck. (It really was
a kit. Motor, belt and paper template to cut holes in your own slab of wood
and a beautiful shiny turntable. I wanted a rega planar but the budget
wouldn't permit...

Maybe comet was Scotland only?

~~~
iso1631
"You know where to Come"

I thought Comet was like Currys though

~~~
ggm
the comet in edinburgh was argos-like warehouse, you saw one of each thing on
shelves and asked grey men behind a dull counter to fetch the box.

------
implements
People may not know that Argos is what the:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Shield_Stamps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Shield_Stamps)
scheme morphed into:

“To retain business, Green Shield allowed customers to buy gifts from the
catalogue with a mix of stamps and cash, but soon the catalogue became cash-
only, and the operation was re-branded as Argos.”

Saying that, you probably need to be pretty old to remember Green Shield
stamps at all.

~~~
C1sc0cat
_grin_ and the free glasses at the petrol stations

------
vmilner
It'll be interesting to see if the laminated loose-leaf catalogues that you
look at in the shops go too. They have monitors that you can search for stuff
with, but I think they will lose the serendipitous impulse buy as people flick
through physical pages. (And the kid pester-power effects.)

------
wayanon
Same day delivery £3.95 has been really helpful during lockdown.

~~~
martin-adams
Agreed, shame their mobile app is bug ridden. I experienced their whole
website loading in a 3D Secure iframe at one point, and missing order at
another.

~~~
swarnie_
I've used Argos 5-6 times during lockdown and had no idea an app existed, i'm
still using the website like its 2009....

They kept that one a secret.

------
te_chris
Argos is great as an Amazon alternative in the UK and often more convenient as
you can pick up at any Sainsburys (there’s lots of small local ones) and they
do same day delivery on a lot of things.

------
pengaru
This brings back childhood memories of flipping through Service Merchandise
[0] catalogs. Never heard of Argos, but it appears to be the same kind of
thing.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise)

------
growlist
I seem to remember a sketch with Rowland Rivron as an airline pilot flying a
plane and imagining bombing various things, including this line:

"Bang! There goes the Argos catalogue showroom"

Can't find any reference to it online. Think it was in the Young Ones maybe?
Anyway seems sadly appropriate today!

------
throwawaysea
I think there’s still room for catalogues in the same way there is room for
magazines in a digital world. Some stores like restoration hardware use the
medium very well, as a marketing channel that customers actually enjoy and
willingly opt into.

------
neilwilson
The last of the catalogue shopping - going the same way as Marshall Ward, GUS
and Empire Stores.

The latter had a pay over 20 weeks facility that was a Godsend in many areas
and really helped at Christmas.

------
gregjw
Surprised it's taken this long. I feel nostalgic when I think of Argos, but
yeah, really archaic concept now.

------
knodi
As a child I use to spend late nights reading the Argos catalogue, dreaming of
all the toys to be had.

------
reiichiroh
Canadians may be familiar with Consumers Distributing which died in the 80s or
90s: www.cdarchive.ca

------
Normille
Argos still exists?

~~~
tialaramex
Sainsbury's bought it. One interesting consequence of that is, since newer
Argos stores were now physically inside a Sainsbury's and Sainsbury's sells
e.g. food that people need in order to live it was possible to purchase
products from Argos (online obviously, they won't let you stand around looking
at a catalogue like it's 1985 because there is a pandemic) and just collect
them with your groceries, during the middle of lockdown.

You can only buy essential products like bread, eggs, chewing gum... and a
Nintendo Switch.

I'm sure this didn't hurt the Argos side of the company compared to its
competitors that were closed entirely.

The main supermarket chain obviously did very well, it was even allowed to do
stuff that's normally prohibited by competition authorities, since "Not
starving the population" beats "Not encouraging monopoly abuse". For example
suppose a small town has two small grocery stores. _Normally_ it's illegal for
either store to agree that the other can just supply everything to them and
save sending twice the trucks of goods, because obviously that's not going to
result in actual competitive behaviour. But during the worst of COVID-19 the
UK government said "Do whatever it takes, we won't enforce those rules" and so
my Sainsbury's had own brand goods from other major supermarket chains on
shelves for a week or so, because it was just easier to ship all the frozen
potato products (for example) for my district in one truck, and not worry
about ensuring the brand on the product matches the sign on the store because
it's all food and nobody wants to starve to death.

