“Challenging” first quarter sees Argos sales slip 2.6 per cent

Home Retail Group is expecting a “challenging” first half for Argos following a drop in first-quarter sales of 2.6 per cent.

Sales have reportedly slipped to £846 million in the 13 weeks to May 30th, which were 3.9 per cent down on a like-for-like basis.

Online sales in the quarter represented 44 per cent of total Argos sales, an increase of 2 per cent while mobile commerce sales grew by 15 per cent to 25 per cent of online sales.

In what has been described as a ‘challenging’ first half by Home Retail’s chief executive John Walden, this year has seen Argos launch new initiatives including two digital concessions within Sainsbury’s.

Walden said: “We continue to expect that sales will be challenging during the first half at Argos, but we look forward to a stronger second half as we progress the Transformation Plan and introduce new propositions more broadly to the market.”

The group’s DIY retail arm, Homebase has however seen a more positive start to the year with a 5.4 per cent increase on like for like sales.