GUS, owner of the Argos chain of shops, has bought 33 Index stores and the Index brand name from Littlewoods for £44m.
GUS is buying half of the Index portfolio and expects to rebrand all of the 33 stores to Argos over a three-month period, following the completion of the sale in July.
The group said it would not incur costs in respect of any closure of the remaining 33 standalone Index stores or the 93 concessions Littlewoods will retain.
Terry Duddy, chief executive of Argos Retail Group, said: “The purchase of these stores enables us to extend Argos’s proven model of better choice, value and convenience to more customers in a cost effective and efficient way.”
The deal effectively doubles Argos’s expansion plans for the current year, with 35 new store openings to continue on schedule alongside the rebranding of the Index stores.
Argos will now operate around 650 UK stores by the end of the current financial year.
References: EGi News 18/04/05
