Re:The Apocalyptic Architecture of One 1970s Retail Chain
by NeedMoreTea on Thursday August 23, 2018 @08:17AM
(#17826578)
Argos was originally a rebrand of the Green Shield Stamps catalogue, I think after Tesco stopped giving out stamps. Co Op stopped giving Co Op stamps about the same time. The Embassy Cigarette catalogue was possibly the last points catalogue survivor!
All the old Green Shield shops became the first Argos shops, and worked very much the same as they always had, just without the stamps. For the first few years you could trade old stamps.
Curiously Argos was owned by Big Tobacco for many years. I wonder how helpful that was during a time when retail was far from easy due to inflation, high interest rates, no EPOS and big changes to VAT, import tariffs and other taxation.
Much like how illegal drug businesses have front companies that don't have to make money but allow illegal money to be laundered into the legitimate economy, I wonder if Argos worked like that, enabling their owners to repatriate untaxed earnings. If some type of financial engineering went on then that could explain why Argos survived whereas Best didn't.