Case
Argos is a British catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a
subsidiary of Sainsbury’s. The company trades both through physical shops and online,
with over 845 retail shops, 29 million yearly shop customers, and nearly a billion online
visitors per annum, It is one of the largest high street retailers in the United Kingdom
and it has also franchised overseas to countries such as China. Argos was established
on 13 November 1972, by Richard Tompkins, the founder of the Green Shield Stamps
scheme, who rebranded the existing Green Shield Stamps catalogue shops as Argos,
before opening new Argos-branded shops later in the year. BAT Industries purchased
the company in 1979, and in 1990, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange, where
it became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index (The Guardian, 2017).
In April 1998, GUS plc bought Argos, and it became part of Home Retail Group when
GUS split in October 2006. In April 2016, Argos’ parent Home Retail Group agreed to a
£1.4 billion takeover by the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s intend to
close most separate Argos shops and integrate them into its large Sainsbury’s
supermarkets. The acquisition was completed on 2 September 2016, and the business
became part of a division named Sainsbury’s Argos led by its own chief executive
(Argos, 2018; Financial Times 2017).
Scenario
As a newly appointed Graduate Trainee of Argos’ marketing team, you have been
asked by the Marketing Manager to write a report that addresses each the following
tasks:
Introduction
• Outline the purpose of the report (100 words)
• Provide an Overview of Argos (200 words)
Task 1: Needs, Wants and Demands (L01)
a. Explain how wants differ from demands (150 words)
b. Using examples, discuss the needs, wants and demands of Argos’
customers (250 words)
MCOM4040 SUMMER 2019 COURSEWORK BRIEF
GSM LONDON Page 4 of 16
Task 2: Marketing Environment (L02, 3)
a. Considering the macro environment of Argos, identify and discuss one
social and one environmental factor that could impact Argos’ business
operations (200 words)
b. Considering the micro environment of Argos, identify two key
competitors and discuss their potential threat to the business (250
words)
c. Identify and explain two (2) internal environmental factors that could be
considered as strengths or weaknesses of Argos business operations
(250 words)
Task 3: Marketing Mix (LO1)
a. Using the 7Ps of marketing, Identify and describe Argos’ current
marketing mix providing detailed examples for each of the 7Ps discussed
(400 words)
Sample Solution
