As Home Retail boss Terry Duddy prepared to release full-year figures for his flagship Argos business, he would have known that store numbers would be a big talking point.

City critics have frequently questioned whether in the multichannel era a chain of 748 shops makes sense. Speculation that a large number closures were on the cards was stoked by news that consultancy OC&C has been drafted in to conduct a review of Argos.

But it looks as if those urging deep cuts to store numbers will be disappointed. OC&C will certainly look at Argos’s portfolio and the role of stores, but Duddy made clear that radical reshaping is highly unlikely.

He emphasised that shops are an “integral” part and “key component” of a multichannel offer, and that almost 90% of Argos’s sales involve stores in some way – a figure that has “remained constant over the last five years.”

Multichannel revenues rose to account for 48% of the total at Argos. Of that, 39% came from total internet orders including Check & Reserve and the remainder from products ordered in-store or over the phone for home delivery.

Those figures illustrate the extent to which shops still have a big part to play at Argos, even though the business has taken a bashing during harsh trading conditions.

So perhaps it was no surprise that Duddy signalled that no “en masse” store closures are imminent. Over the last year there was little net change in shop numbers – 16 closures and 13 openings – and it seems a case-by-case approach will be taken on stores dependent on performance.

Over the next five years about 230 Argos lease renewals or break clauses will come up. “Each will be reviewed,” Duddy said. There are likely to be 10 closures in the current year but there will be relocations too. Again, that indicates no u-turn in the immediate term.

The retailer was also at pains to point out that improvements being made to stores are having an impact. Last year there were 200 refurbs, bringing the total overhauled to 350.

The retailer noted: “The financial performance of the refurbished stores continues to be encouraging with the average uplift being 2.5%, which is ahead of the business case requirement of 1%.”

Others remain unconvinced about the scale of the Argos estate however. Panmure analyst Philip Dorgan says: “We believe that Argos needs a significant store closure programme as it shifts towards clicks rather than bricks.

“To be clear, we think that a store base can be an advantage in an online world, we just don’t think that Argos needs 750 of them on a five-year view.”

On this morning’s evidence, savage scything of the Argos chain is not on the agenda. The situation may change as time goes on but if shops end up being shuttered, it is more likely to be a gradual process over a long period.