Argos uses new shipping service to target island
Saturday 5th September 2009, 2:29PM BST.
ARGOS is actively targeting islanders for the first time and will soon deliver catalogues to every home in Guernsey.
The move comes after the retail giant struck up a partnership with Jersey Post’s new delivery company, Ship2me.
That launched services this week that will now enable islanders to purchase goods from any retailer within a European Union country that does not deliver to Guernsey.
Shoppers can have items sent to Ship2me’s UK address before paying a charge to have them freighted across the Channel.
A leaflet will soon be sent to islanders giving details of the Argos relationship before catalogues are delivered within the next few weeks.
Ship2me managing director Gary Whipp said the partnership with Argos had been designed to make the shipping of goods even easier for customers.
‘Yes, you can still buy from anywhere and have it delivered to us, but with our selective partners like Argos it makes the whole process simpler,’ he said.
‘Argos is incorporating our services into their website and system, and we can do the VAT reclamation for you as well.’
A spokesman for Argos said it was always looking for opportunities to expand.
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Why does everyone NEED an argos catalogue sent to their home. They can look and shop on the Argos website. That number of catalogues will only add to the waste Guernsey has to deal with, and when they issue a new one, that will get sent out etc etc. What will be the impact of lcoal business’s if people have access to Argos?
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i would love to buy from argos, i hve been to their store in the uk an loved it. as for why hve catalogues ,, wat about ppl who do not have the net? my mum bless her has not a clue hw to use the pc, she hates asking me to look for items on her catalouges site. so no bring on havin them delivered xx
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Another nail in the coffin for Guernsey’s shops.
More business lost while landlords press for higher rents.
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I see what you mean Jimmy, but perhaps this island needs competition, and shouldn’t people be recycling their Argos catalogue, not binning it!
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I think the impact will be on companies selling sofas etc. Looking at Ship2me’s prices I don’t think Argos will be successful with many of their 18,000 products.
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If people want to shop with Argos then another few shops in our beautiful St Peter Port will close down.Sad,but true!
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‘A spokesman for Argos said it was always looking for opportunities to expand’…and here we are, only 2009, and at last, they’re doing it-!
I have seen countless things on the good ol internet that I’ve really wanted over the years, only to be told by multifarious companies (including Argos), ‘sorry, we don’t deliver to the Channel Islands’ (transl:’we can’t be bothered’)….
Now, at the risk of dampening their spokesman’s enthusiasm, I would have to ask the question ‘why couldn’t you do this before..(the credit crunch and sheer desperation for some sales)?’
Did it really take a small shipping company to assist the near omnipotent might that is Argos to understand that the tiny strip of water between us and the mainland CAN now be negotiated, not by a miracle (such as walking on water), but by vessels that can travel by air AND sea, as many of us have known for years?
I can almost hear the jolly Boardroom banter post-meeting to discuss such an outrageous concept, ‘come on Giles, next they’ll be telling us we can fly to the moon…!’
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It’s about time. The furniture selling shops on the Island need some competition. The consumers need a fair deal which they certainly haven’t been getting. Nearly everything on the Island is more expensive than in the UK. Local stores need to bring their prices into line.
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This story shows just how wrong Tony Creasey and the Town traders are over the Leale’s Yard development.
They’re all getting hot under the collar about the Co-op while their real enemies – the online retailers – are laughing in their faces and coming up with ever more ingenious ways to bring cheaper goods to the island.
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@Scarlett
Trust me, companies can “be bothered” to do things when they can make a profit. I think suggesting their company strategies include such a phrase is rather stupid. Argos is not a moody teenager!
Argos deliver much of their stock themselves, not having a delivery vehicle based in Guernsey is just one reason they could not deliver here.
I suggest you have a look at the ship2me website and try to understand just how much it costs to negotiate “the tiny strip of water between us and the mainland”.
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Great, a load of glossy paper to send to the great big paper pulper in the sky along with our Wave directories .
What a waste of time and money advertise by all means but just send us all to the website.
No doubt somewhere online they’ll be spouting all the usual tripe about what an environmentally aware company they are but what about the impact of sending out all those huge catalogues unsolicited?
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To those thinking that this will spell the end of town shops – well it is just another small step in the inevitable evolution of retail on this island. John Lewis already deliver free of charge. Amazon will deliver a lot of things for free. There is not much that the local shops offer that cannot already be obtained over the internet. Ship2me and Argos and others will increase choice, but doesn’t change the fundamentals.
Where the islands’ shops need to focus is on SERVICE. Many shops cannot compete with the whole of the internet on choice of product range (unless willing to order items for customers subject to approval) and may not be able to compete on price. Where they can add value is by delivering quality advice, after sales service etc. I am sure that there is enough loyalty on this island for people to buy local unless given a reason not to do so. Many times I have felt that I am justified buying from the internet because the local retailers simply cannot be bothered or are too inept to provide me with basic service. Many other times I have willingly paid more on-island because a shop has offered good advice and service (eg buying tools from Gaudions or Norman Piette, rather than online) – but I am always surprised that this feels like the exception rather than the norm.
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You may be right, TL. But what about defending the fact that you are servicing tax evaders and that you are not in “fear” of an “exodus of[criminal] business” to Liechtenstein. That’s what PwC are saying.
Makes all the rest of the stuff you posted look like nonsense. Unfortunately.
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Mrs P.
I agree that Argos should not be sending unsolicited catalogues. I always return the Wave directories to their shop. They will have to pay commercial rates to get dispose of the leftover ones and this may encourage them to reduce the print run. With the Argos catalogues mark them return to sender and put them in the post box.
TL
Yes local shops can compete by giving good service but increasingly customers are going into shops taking up half an hour of an assistants time to look at and compare products and then they go off and order it on the internet.
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Arnald – if I thought that you wanted to understand it, I would explain how being right on 1% of an issue does not make you completely right. But then we will end up arguing about the 99% and you won’t want to believe what I’m saying and we will waste precious moments for real life in the meantime. As I said before, I cannot be bothered any more.
Now – do you have anything to say about the future of the retail sector in Guernsey?
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TL
What are you talking about? I have a Press article saying there was a fear of exodus of accounts with undeclared income.
What don’t I understand?
Who cares about retail when hundreds of billions of dollars are implicated in crime!
It’s the likes of you that are selling Guernsey down the river with your arrogant dismissiveness of valid questions.
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Arnald, I fail to see what this particular thread has to do with your bete noire, the finance industry. And how on earth did you manage to get Liechtenstein into a discussion about conventional shopping v online retail?
Perhaps I’ve missed something and Argos’ European HQ is in Liechtenstein???
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Sorry Martino
Was just annoyed that no one has the courtesy of telling me why i’m so wrong. TL has shown that he treats criticisms of his livelihood with disdain. He arrogantly believes I don’t know anything…
What do I think about retail? Support the co op more than Argos, but hey, who am I to argue about commercial strategy? Only criminals seems to get good treatment here.
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Cheers for the explanation Arnald.
I’m not going to get involved in your debate with TL so back to the original discussion here.
I think the bottom line is that most of us are prepared to support local shops with two provisos: – that the service is good (agree with you on that TL) and that the price differential with online is not too great.
As a freelance (effectively part time) worker I’m prepared to pay up to 10 per cent more to an actual, local retailer but at times I simply can’t afford NOT to go online.
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Arnald – I suggest that you drop the personally directed insults. We have had previous discussions. I have calmly and rationally answered some of your accusations and yet you have still repeated them without substantiation and without giving me the courtesy of taking on board the explanations that I give given in an attempt to give you a broader view of what does and does not happen. And yet you call me arrogant. Just because I choose not to go down that route again, you call me dismissive. You have ignored my previous explanations and so what is the point of me wasting my time again? There is none. You are that child that keeps asking “Why?” to every answer without listening to what the answer means. Just because I have better things to do does not make me arrogant.
As for Liechtenstein, I have no sympathy for tax evaders but I suspect that the “fear” that the Press asked about was nothing of the sort. The story smacks of someone being asked a direct question and then the answer being portrayed as a story. Nothing I have said before is contradicted by the revelation that some people choose not to abide by their legal obligations in the UK. I have always said that it is inevitable that there are some. If you had bothered to try to understand my previous points you would know that.
Now I have wasted yet more time than I wanted to and so I really will say no more on the subject.
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Arnald, this thread is about Argos. Please do not try and turn it into some communist propaganda thread because you views are (a) tiresome and (b) generally nonsense!
I don’t think Argos delivering to Guernsey will have much impact, as one can generally beat their prices with other on-line retailers already.
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TL you are spot on about service. Since local retailers cannot compete with the big online companies on price, they need to be competitive elsewhere – the obvious area is of course service.
Local retailers have the advantage that they are on hand and can be spoken to face to face. There’s also the advantage of having an expert right on hand for any questions. To many people this is a big deal and is worth paying a little extra.
Sadly however, many local retailers don’t seem to get this. There are of course exceptions (Bluchip motor dealers being one) however they do appear to be the exception rather than the rule.
I’m personally rather tired of being accused of being disloyal to my homeland or selling the island out because I shop online. Guernsey people are well known for their thrifty nature – online shopping is just another way of putting that into action.
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how are they posting the catalogs to every island home?, i certainly dont need or want one and will not use it, i get enough crap through the door already. btw how are they getting the addresses? surely there are data protection laws against this practice if your not on their mailing list already?
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Dean.
Words are a many splendored thing, and though I could have waxed lyrical for ages on most of these companies attitudes, I decided to encapsulate it in a brief remark.
I guess whether people choose to take this literally, or appreciate it in context with the rest of what I said, depends on whether they want to comment on the article or take pot shots at other people’s comments as they don’t have an original idea of their own to contribute.
When enquiring to these companies, I ALWAYS offer to pay the additional freight/tranportation charges (as reality dictates that only walking on water is free) but the majority STILL aren’t interested.
Recently, I finally found a company who were willing to send my item to a local freight company (not Ship2Me, who were WAY too expensive, and who, like every other commercial company, rightly charge what they see fit to make a profit, so the implication that their prices reflect the true costs is totally invalid, or as you would say, ‘stupid’) from where it was shipped onto me and delivered to my door, for which, I paid the (considerable) extra charge.
As for ‘Argos not having a delivery vehicle based in Guernsey is just one reason they could not deliver here’, purleez, spare me, they’ll be telling us that ‘the dog ate their homework’ next.
PS. just to avoid further confusion, yes, I am aware that we mortals can’t actually walk on water, Argos don’t actually do homework and as far as I am aware, do not have a dog.
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TL
can you provide a more detailed explanation please?
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Paul – an explanation of what? Of the bad service that I have experienced from some retailers? Or of the good service that I have received from others?
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o.k everyone you have all waxed lyrical about retailing so you must all be experts. This is an open question for all of you. If I am a local retailer with a store on the island and i have bought 100 music centres, cost price £100 what price would you say it is fair for me to sell these at? Once you have answered that question I’ll provide some costings to see if I can make a profit. Trouble is most of the people who post comments here and are asked a question never reply they only rant! you wonder why so very few local people go into retailing?
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Scarlett
Sorry, I didn’t mean to rile you with my ‘pot shot’. I merely misunderstood your post thinking it demonstrated a clear lack of understanding on the subject (Argos, not tax evasion).
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OK I will go first. £140.
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I’ll answer in a different way Kevin. If you pitch your price at 10 per cent above the online retail cost of exactly the same item I think you’ll get a fair local take-up.
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Dean, you can get those £100 music centres for £90 from Amazon with free delivery.
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Kevin
Id say at around the same price as the UK retailers with VAT subtracted would be a good price for me.
Student Bob
I’ve seen them for £87 on ebay. With the delivery P & P your price wins the day so far.
But a mate down the pub reckons he can lay his hands on a few for £50.
Anybody beat that?
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Student Bob, It’s OK I still have my receipt!
Seriously though, It is not just a case of adding 10 per cent to the on-line price. Retailers have to have certain mark ups based on their own outgoings. I think Kevin is just pointing out that the high prices are not down (in the most part) to greedy retailers.
BTW kevin do we win a music centre if we guess the closest?
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I think Martino has a good response to Kevin’s question. Student Bob’s tongue in cheek post is also quite incisive.
The problem is that local retailers can’t compete price wise, so they won’t get the business. Kevin can buy 100 music centres, Amazon can buy 1000 or more. We can argue ’til the cows come home about what’s a fair price and what’s not however, as Kevin has pointed out on another thread, the overheads local retailers face mean they haven’t got a hope of competing with UK Internet outlets such as Amazon.
This is why I think that local retail’s days are numbered, at least in areas such as consumer electronics.
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martino
no chance mate I’d be bankrupt in a week!
student bob get a job!
my wage bill would be at least 60% more than any on line retailer! my rent per sq foot would be 300% more approx.
funny how you guys have moved away from “being ripped off” to “local retailers cannot compete.” maybe you have being naive in the first place. fine use the net and mail order what’s the problem?
no prizes either I’m closing down anyway.
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Kevin – since your last comment was a thinly veiled barb at me, I’ll respond:
“fine use the net and mail order what’s the problem?” – no problem, that’s what I’ll do! You still seem oblivious to the fact that a comments page is here precisely to allow islander to share their opinions – irrespective of whether you like/agree with them.
I’ll concede that on occasions cosumers, me included, can be naive hoever I don’t think that’s always the case. Local cosumers encounter different kinds of retailer: There are those who try as they might just can’t compete; others simply hide behind excuses to justify excessively high prices and don’t even make the effort – these are usually the ones who come across with the “I deserve your business” attitude that puts potential customers off, as well as prompting emotive comments about being ripped off.
Then to conclude you have the savvy types who have evolved their business with the times and taken advantage of the global marketplace to provide competitively priced goods yet still making a profit – I would suggest the car import companies are a good example of this.
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paul le p
i’m sharing ny opinion I don’t think you agree with it, i repeat whats the problem? from the numerous spelling mistakes in your post you appear to be getting rattled. By the way I have it on good authority that local car sales are struggling badly.The sawy types are they lumberjacks? or is it savvy types? they must be i.t. types then?
Last thing i’ll say on this is that if islanders come on this comments page they should not insult other users intelligence by posting opinions without foundation. if you have a problem with local retailers name them or shut up.
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this is my final,final post on this subject.
let’s face it there is no evidence to suggest that retailers as an industry in Guernsey are any better or worse than any other industry in the islands. Maybe,just maybe when you have looked into retailing as some of you have you will accept it is a hell of a lot more competitive than the industries in which you ply your trades. I get the feeling a lot of you wouldn’t touch retailing with the proverbial barge pole as a career. thank you.
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I like the fact of Ship2me has started, but i do find it very expensive for the bigger items, so we are not realy saving on the cost of the item.
so we are in a no win situation.
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