Catalogue store group Argos has spotted potential for up to 30 smaller stores in London after a successful pilot.

Argos has traditionally found it difficult to find suitably sized properties in London, prompting it to experiment with a smaller shop measuring approximately 3,500 sq ft – including 700 sq ft of shopfloor space – rather than 10,000 sq ft.

Following the success of the first such store, opened in east London’s Whitechapel in May, a second opened in Harlesden, northwest London, last month. The retailer now believes it has hit on a winning model that can be replicated across the capital.

Despite their limited floorspace, the small shops are expected to generate 80 per cent of a typical store’s turnover, said Argos managing director Sara Weller.

She said: “We’ve struggled for space in London. We’ve been working hard to get London populated with good Argos stores and we think we could have about 30 [smaller shops].

“It won’t happen overnight because even these sites are hard to come by. If we could find four or five a year, that would be great.”

She said that while there were probably more places in London where conventionally sized stores could be opened, smaller shops also suited the capital’s shopping dynamics.

Argos, part of Home Retail Group, reported last month that like-for-likes had fallen 5.8 per cent in the second quarter. In the first half, like-for-likes were down 3 per cent and total sales were£1.86 billion.