Argos down but not out

The answer is no, if for no other reason than that Home Retail has £259m cash in the bank. But Home Retail boss Terry Duddy, who will run Argos on an interim basis until a replacement for managing director Sara Weller is found, would say no for many other reasons.

Argos is a business that others “admire and envy” he says. While it is under pressure it is holding its own in market-share terms and even extending its power in some categories.

Its performance, noted Duddy, compared favourably with Tesco’s showing in general merchandise, reported only two days earlier - evidence against the oft-repeated claim that the grocers are eating Argos’s lunch.

Duddy expects this year to be just as tough as the one he’s just reported on but is confident that Argos will rise along with the economy in the medium term.

He would be, wouldn’t he? But Duddy’s not just sitting around waiting for recovery. Argos is bidding for a greater share of spend through new channels, such as TV shopping, or in new product categories such as clothing.

All that’s before you consider Argos’s multichannel strength and the way its stores and online offer complement each other. Did you know by the way that Argos does not have a single unprofitable shop?

There’s no getting away from the fact that Argos’s profits have fallen. There’s no getting away from the fact that it faces competition from some of the most accomplished and powerful retailers.

The Argos bull argument, like any other, might ultimately be proved wrong but the case can be persuasively made. Certainly Argos has been through easier times, but reports of its death look somewhat exaggerated and Home Retail’s shares rose on results day despite the profits fall.

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