Commercial is the overall name for our functions that encompass buying, merchandising and the associated support functions. In short, they are the ones who choose the products we sell and make sure they are supplied in sufficient quantity to satisfy demand. Because of the way our Homebase and Argos store models work, the requirements around supporting these functions are slightly different in each of the businesses.

The shop window for Argos is the catalogue and all the information customers need is on the page. In fact, the majority have made up their minds what they want to buy before they even enter the store. At Homebase customers come to browse, to look at products, touch them, pick them up and prod them. As such there is a greater need for innovation and development, and more emphasis on the visual impact of the product as it is displayed in the store.

In terms of holding the stock, Argos is a ‘just in time’ operation. In other words, because everything happens behind the scenes, we hold just enough stock to satisfy immediate demand. Homebase is very different. Since all products are out on display, we need to make sure we’re holding enough so the shelves don’t start to appear bare before the next delivery arrives.

Now let’s put all that into context. We offer tens of thousands of product lines from jewellery, bedroom furniture and running machines, to plants, kitchens and MP3 players. It’s a vast range that we’re continually evolving to stay ahead of the competition, to echo the latest market trends and to make sure we can deliver precisely what our customers want. The success of our customer experience is directly linked to whether or not we get this right.

At the 2005 Rising Star Awards – Argos won ‘Buyer and Merchandiser of the Year’.

Buying

This is all about developing and sourcing products that satisfy customer demand in terms of value, choice and convenience. It’s also about making sure the products we stock deliver sales and profit targets. Our ability to build robust relationships with suppliers and negotiate good ‘win-win’ deals is crucial to success. In an extremely fast paced and demanding environment, this team needs to react quickly to changes in market conditions.

Within this function also sits a team called Value Chain. They bring together the buying teams for similar product areas that both Argos and Homebase offer. They work with buyers and suppliers to bring about costs savings which can then be passed on to the customer. For example, pooling requirements allows us to purchase in larger quantities which means we can negotiate lower cost prices.

Merchandising

These teams deal with the supply and range planning of our products. For Argos their primary purpose is to ensure that our Distribution Centres and more importantly our stores have the right products in the right quantities. They keep a close eye on trading performance to make sure we can fulfil demand. After all, if a customer wants something and it’s out of stock, chances are we’ve just lost a sale. The nature of the Homebase operation is somewhat different and here Central Merchandising support the Merchandising teams to deliver their objectives by defining best practice, and helping them to meet these ideals.

Product Development

Product Development works with the category teams to deliver product innovation and differentiation, forecasting style tends and steering product development. They work with existing and new suppliers to deliver new product ranges. Packaging, POS, display and marketing opportunities are all part of the brief.

Functions specific to Argos

Central Stock manages the flow of products through our different customer channels making sure stores receive the right goods and that we have enough in our distribution centres to meet home delivery orders. Supplier Management continually looks at ways of improving supplier performance across all delivery channels. Merchandise Data Support maintains our product database, provides suppliers with relevant documentation and ensures the accuracy and completeness of all the information we need from them. Demand Forecasting uses analysis to accurately project product requirements particularly when, as seasons change, so does the demand for certain products we sell. Direct Importing searches the world to identify the best products at the best prices, then manages their movement from the country of origin into our UK distribution network.

Functions specific to Homebase

Visual Planning is primarily responsible for the look and layout of ranges within the Homebase Stores. Our team works closely with the category teams to ensure that all products are listed to the correct Stores and that Planograms can accommodate sufficient quantities to support sales demand. Space Planning & Commercial Development help to define, prioritise and deliver key strategic space initiatives to deliver improvements in space performance and business growth. They continually develop ways for developing the customer proposition by ensuring a range of projects are running in support of it.