Comment: Argos’s digital hub feels like an energised start-up

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When people think of Argos, that bastion of the high street, what usually comes to mind? I’d wager that laminated catalogues and small pens are uppermost in most people’s minds.

But there’s a revolution taking place for at Argos, one of the first to introduce click and reserve nearly 10 years ago, the arrival of John Walden a little over two years ago, has heralded seismic change.

For a brand so steeped in its heritage, Argos is on a journey to digitise the business. But what does this mean exactly?

I was curious to understand what the digital transformation means not in terms of the technology but for the people; and not just Argos’s customers (there are fewer than 10 new format ‘digital’ stores at present) but how it is changing the fabric of the organisation internally.

One of Walden’s key signings to help drive this transformation was Bertrand Bodson, who joined Argos from EMI in July last year.

So it was to the new ‘Argos digital hub’ in Victoria that I went to meet with him and find out what digitising a business means.

It’s only been up and running since December last year but the digital hub has the feel of an incredibly energised start-up; innovation seeps from every corner of the office and Bodson is clearly excited by the progress being made. Teams are a maximum of eight “to allow them to be rapid and responsive” Bodson says.

And they seem to be; with a two-week release horizon, new code is flying out of the door at a pace unmatched in more traditional environments.

The digital hub is not a standalone add-on team in the Argos business. The digital transformation has meant that the traditional retail ‘silo’ structure is being torn down in favour of integrated cross functional teams working together in a rapid, dynamic fashion. All ideas are valid it seems.

When we start discussing the role of the 740 stores in this, Bodson’s response is perhaps surprising. “I can’t run a digital business without the stores” he says. He refers to store colleagues as being his ‘digital army’.

“44% of our customers begin their journey online but 90% of transactions are completed in store” he continues.

It is clear that more than ever, the key to success is the successful integration of online with physical, and “speed and pace” being critical to the transformation programme.

All this has the potential to be the largest transformation of its kind on the high street and there’s clearly more to come.

For example, on the subject of where social media such as Twitter and Facebook fit into all this, Bodson says; “In retail we haven’t harnessed [the potential of] social yet”.

Will Argos succeed in this transformation whilst at the same time bringing its more traditional ‘ laminated catalogue’ customers along on the journey?

If all goes well, exciting times lie ahead for a once slightly dog-eared brand.