Argos extends eBay tie-up to more sellers and 650 shops

Shoppers can now collect products from “a much wider range of eBay merchants” from 650 Argos stores, the retailer said. When the partnership was first struck in September, shoppers could pick up products from 50 eBay merchants across 150 Argos shops.

On launch, Home Retail group chief executive John Walden, who was Argos managing director at the time, said the deal could pave the way for more tie-ups.

Walden said at the time: “We think the unique capability that Argos has is distribution and store collection may become more and more relevant. There might be a model where Argos could provide these unique capabilities to others, traditional and online in the marketplace and that’s the purpose of the trial.

“Rather than stores being a disadvantage, we believe our small, efficient stores are a strategic advantage.”

The practicality of Argos‘s 700-strong store estate has been called into question by many analysts, yet more partnerships of this nature could create a more convincing argument for such a large portfolio.