Argos Retail Group
Encyclopedia
Home Retail Group plc is a holding company
for the UK
and Republic of Ireland
retailers Argos
and Homebase
. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
.
and Reality UK businesses. It went on to acquire Homebase
in 2002 and 33 Index
stores in 2005. It was demerged from its parent company, GUS plc, with effect from 10 October 2006. Shares in Home Retail Group were traded on the London Stock Exchange
as from 11 October 2006.
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
for the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
retailers Argos
Argos (retailer)
Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
and Homebase
Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 350 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Together with its sister company Argos , it forms part of Home Retail Group. Homebase recorded sales figures...
. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
.
History
The Company was established in 2000 when GUS plc merged its ArgosArgos (retailer)
Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
and Reality UK businesses. It went on to acquire Homebase
Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 350 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Together with its sister company Argos , it forms part of Home Retail Group. Homebase recorded sales figures...
in 2002 and 33 Index
Littlewoods Index
Index was a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom, that was owned by Littlewoods from 1985 until 2005.Many Index stores were attached to Littlewoods stores...
stores in 2005. It was demerged from its parent company, GUS plc, with effect from 10 October 2006. Shares in Home Retail Group were traded on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
as from 11 October 2006.
Operations
The Company comprises the following businesses:- ArgosArgos (retailer)Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
(including HomeStore&More) - HomebaseHomebaseHomebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 350 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Together with its sister company Argos , it forms part of Home Retail Group. Homebase recorded sales figures...
- HygenaHygenaHygena is a brand of fitted kitchen, originally from the United Kingdom. Started in Liverpool in 1925 to make Hoosier cabinets, it was bought by new investors in 1938, who after the war built modular kitchens for the new British post-war temporary prefab houses...
- Schreiber
- AlbaAlba (electronics)Harvard International plc is a British consumer electronics company, which owns the Goodmans and iLuv brands....
- Bush
- Chad ValleyChad ValleyChad Valley is a long-established brand of toys in the United Kingdom owned by Home Retail Group. The company has its roots in a printing business established by Anthony Bunn Johnson in Birmingham in the early 19th century...
- Habitat (retailer)Habitat (retailer)Habitat Retail Ltd. is a retailer of household furnishings in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and has franchised outlets in other countries. Founded in 1964 by Terence Conran, it was sold by the IKANO Group, owned by the Kamprad family, in December 2009 to Hilco, a restructuring...
- Financial services including HOME Financial Services, comprising HOME Card Services (handling store cards such as the Argos Card and Homebase Card), HOME Insurance Services (handling in the store extended warranties and accidental damage insurances) and HOME Card Transactions (handling processing of in-store EFTPOSEFTPOSEFTPOS is the general term used for debit card based systems used for processing transactions through terminals at points of sale. In Australia and New Zealand it is also the brand name of the specific system used for such payments...
transactions).