Sainsbury's will no longer own Argos after agreeing to sell the retailer for £120m, a move that shifts liability for nearly 14,000 Argos staff to the buyer and narrows Sainsbury's focus to its core food business.
Swift Partners, a vehicle set up to acquire the brand that includes former Co-operative Group chief Richard Pennycook, will take control of Argos if the deal completes in February next year. Sainsbury's said it would be "business as usual" for Argos customers, staff, and suppliers, and confirmed Argos shops will continue to trade inside Sainsbury's stores, will keep offering Nectar points, and will still sell Habitat products.
The business being sold spans 667 Argos outlets across the UK, with 201 standalone stores and 466 operating inside Sainsbury's supermarkets, plus more than 450 collection points. The retailer's origins date to 1973, when customers used a printed catalogue to place orders; Argos has since shifted its full range online and in-store browsing now happens on tablets.
Sainsbury's acquired Argos and the other Home Retail Group brands in 2016 for £1.4bn, then divested Argos Financial Services, including the Argos card, for around £720m in 2024. The supermarket group had pursued a sale for some time, and talks with Chinese online retailer JD.com collapsed in September last year.
Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Robert said all of Argos's "nearly 14,000 staff" will transfer to Swift Partners under the transaction. Richard Pennycook said he "believed strongly in Argos's future and see real opportunities to invest and build on its progress" and signalled potential expansion of standalone shops and even a return of the print catalogue.
Retail analysts framed the deal as overdue. Clive Black said he had long questioned whether Argos was "wholly aligned" with Sainsbury's grocery operations and called Argos a "suboptimal performer from a financial perspective." Catherine Shuttleworth argued Sainsbury's had been "distracted" by its supermarket arm, but added Argos could become a "really digital-first business" capable of giving a "bloody nose" to online rivals such as Amazon under new ownership.
The Usdaw union's national officer Bally Auluk warned the sale would create uncertainty for workers but welcomed Swift's commitment to "keeping the model of store in stores, standalone stores and local fulfilment centres." With regulatory approvals and customary conditions remaining, the parties expect to complete the transfer in February next year, after which Swift Partners will set strategy for Argos's next phase.
