Terry Duddy

The Home Retail chief executive has not had an easy year. The Argos and Homebase owner’s benchmark operating profit fell 4% to £290m in 2009, including a decline of £37m - or 12% - at the flagship catalogue store chain.

But despite the onslaught of grocers and online retailers into Argos’s general merchandise heartland, the business is far from broken. In fact, Argos’s residual strengths and its multichannel expertise could make it a tasty bid target. Speculation has been rife that bids from potential buyers such as Walmart-owned grocer Asda are being considered.

Already in control of the biggest general merchandise business in the UK, Duddy could be poised to play a role as marriage broker in what would be one of the deals of the decade.

Duddy ensured Argos did not stand still, despite tough trading conditions during the recession.

He made the most of the opportunities the downturn threw up by, for instance, buying the Chad Valley toy brand from the administrators of the now defunct Woolworths group at the start of 2009.

In the most recent catalogue, there were 200 Chad Valley products

and the brand has since become Argos’ leading toy brand, and is being extended.

Duddy has driven the reinvigoration of Argos as a multichannel business ensuring that, while trading might be still be tough, the business is catering for shoppers in every possible way.