Walden chosen to reignite Argos

By Graeme Evans
Published on Thursday 2 February 2012 00:00

AN AMERICAN who has held senior positions at electricals retailer BestBuy and department store Sears was yesterday handed the task of reviving catalogue chain Argos.

John Walden, whose retail career began in the 1990s when he was number two at internet grocery operation Peapod, will bring a “valuable, fresh perspective” to Argos, according to its owner, Home Retail Group.

Argos has suffered falling sales since 2008 and blamed the weak consumer electronics market for an 8.8 per cent drop in like-for-like revenues over its Christmas quarter. It barely made a profit in the six months to 31 August.

The business, which sells products through 750 stores as well as online and through a television channel, posted sales of £4.2 billion in the year to February.

Walden will join the company at the end of this month, having left his previous job as chief executive of Activeion, which makes environmentally friendly cleaning products, last year.

He spent a year as chief customer officer at Sears after eight years at Best Buy, where he ran the retailer’s internet operation.

Walden’s appointment at Argos comes seven months after the departure of Sara Weller.

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piedodger

Friday, February 3, 2012 at 10:03 PM

Start with the catalogues, I shop on line now for the most up todate prices, after a while "new catalogues" are quickly out dated if there is price changes, looking at the older higher price puts me off when I see it cheaper elsewhere. Good thing about the store is item returned no questions asked :) Share Price UP 6% today :)

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