Argos has opened a new office in London, dubbed a ‘digital hub’, as the retailer continues its efforts to expand into digital.
Located in Victoria, the hub already has some 10 staff and the retailer is seeking to hire product managers, development managers, digital designers and testers.
Argos digital director Bertrand Bodson will remain based in the brand’s Milton Keynes headquarters, where the majority of the business’s existing digitally-focused staff will remain based, but will spend about one day a week in the Victoria office.
Bodson, an ex-Amazon executive who joined Argos in the summer, said: “For us, this is about creating a space for collaboration and innovation. We want to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit I know to be at the heart of our business and which has meant that nearly 50% of our business now originates in a digital channel.”
Recently, Argos trialed 6 digital stores, using voice-activated computer systems, iPads, free Wi-Fi and digital screens flashing up adverts to drag its traditional catalogue shops into the digital age.
The famous laminated catalogues are going, along with the tiny pencils and slips of paper, in a bid to make service faster and give the stores a cleaner, more modern look.
Argos is also integrating Blippar’s augmented reality technology into catalogues to allow children at home to open up interactive contact within the catalogue using a mobile device.