New Argos store opens
Store in Britannia Centre has been closed
A NEW Argos unit has opened in The Crescent in Hinckley.
The electrical sales outlet stretches along the back of the outlet and offers a range of 20,000 products that can be ordered for collection in store, plus 20,000 products that can be home delivered.
An eBay collection point is also available.
A store previously existed in the Britannia Shopping Centre on Castle Street, but was shut down as part of reloctions across the country after Sainsbury’s acquired Home Retail Group, which owns Argos.
Sailesh Solanki, store manager at Sainsbury’s Argos Hinckley, said: “We are really proud to be introducing shoppers in Hinckley to our new-look store.
“Shoppers increasingly browse and buy online via PCs, tablets and other mobile devices, while still wanting the immediacy of a local store to pick up their purchases.”
John Davies, store manager at Sainsbury’s Hinckley, said: “Sainsbury’s has been part of this community for a number of years now, and we are really thrilled that Argos has joined us here in Hinckley.
“The combination of Sainsbury’s and Argos will enable customers to shop conveniently through all those different channels.
“It will also give customers more choice across different product ranges, creating the UK’s largest non-food retailer.”
Business lobbyists said the brand’s move away from Britannia Shopping Centre puts additional strain on Castle Street shops, already suffering from the closure of the Co-op department store last January.
Rosemary Wright, president of the Hinckley and District Chamber of Trade, said: “We do not believe that it is in the best interest of Hinckley as a town, the Britannia Centre or Castle Street the historic centre.
“It makes far more serious the already difficult position of the empty Co-op store and could result in empty shops or attract more charity shops in what should be the town centre.”
“The chamber of trade believe that the success of Castle Street and the upper part of the town requires the Co-op building to be a store or a group of retail stores or indoor market, but certainly not flats, especially now with the relocation of Argos.”