Argos

Argos Limited, commonly known as Argos, is a British general merchandise retailer currently owned by Sainsbury's. The company was incorporated as Argos Distributors Limited in November 1972 and began trading in 1973, when entrepreneur Richard Tompkins opened 17 catalogue showrooms. Its retail system developed from Tompkins established Argos by evolving his existing Green Shield Stamps business and combined elements of mail-order and conventional retailing: customers selected products from a catalogue before ordering and collecting them from a stock held at a showroom.