Argos managing director John Walden has warned that the role of the store sales person is under threat because of the depth of product information available digitally.

John Walden, Retail Week Live

Walden pointed out that three million people in the UK are employed in the retail sector and said “store employees are very important to our industry and our country too”.

Argos boss John Walden at Retail Week Live

However, he cautioned: “One area under pressure is the specialist sales person. It’s a bit more discretionary. The tools and depth of information available on the internet is pretty substantial.

“It’s a challenge for the industry. Are store colleagues relevant or redundant? It depends. If they are cost effective and offer a value-added experience different to what’s available digitally, then the answer is they are important. But that question isn’t easy to answer for all of us.”

Walden said that there were no plans to close any of Argos’ 700 stores, despite calls form the City to do so. “The stores are a strategic advantage. We’re going to keep that. We’ll do some pruning but we have no intention of closing large blocks of stores,” he said.

However the role of the store will change and become more about click and collet and service.

“We expect stores to be clean, fast and technologically enabled,” said. “We want stores to be more digitally enabled.”

Walden added that tablet and mobile are the biggest growth markets. However, he said it will become increasingly difficult for retailers to keep apace with change and invest. “The cost of competing in the online space is getting higher and higher. That spending is incremental. It’s not a small amount,” he said.

Fulfillment is becoming the latest battle ground for online retailers now that they have honed their pricing and ranges online, Walden said.

“Home delivery is a big deal, fulfillment is an area where online retailers are beginning to compete,” he said.

Walden added that Argos was aiming to reinvent itself as a digital leader. “Digital channels will become the primary way people access our products, all other channels will be a support,” he said.

Argos will begin to make more of customer data and insight in order to better target shoppers, Walden said.