theguardian_business

Sainsbury’s to sell Argos to three retail veterans in £120m deal

📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business

sainsbury's has agreed to sell argos, the catalogue retailer it bought for £1.3bn in 2016, to swift partners for £120m. swift partners is a new company set up by retail veterans richard pennycook, trevor strain and matt truman. pennycook previously ran the co-operative group and turned around morrisons.

simon roberts, sainsbury's chief executive, called it a 'win-win' and said the sale lets sainsbury's focus on its core food business. argos will continue trading normally, with long-term agreements covering stores inside sainsbury's and the nectar loyalty programme. habitat products will remain under a brand licensing deal.

argos has more than 660 shops, about two-thirds inside sainsbury's stores, and over 1,100 collection points. the deal is expected to complete in early 2027, with full separation by early 2029. sainsbury's shares rose over 3% on the news. union usdaw welcomed commitments on jobs and called for fair consultation.

why it matters: sainsbury's shed a low-margin, underperforming chain to focus on groceries, a move investors rewarded with a share gain.

source: theguardian_business
sentiment: +0.10 · impact: 0.30

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