Argos Unveil New Head of IT, Commercial and Supply Chain
Iconic high street retailer, Argos, has announced Henrietta Baring as the new figurehead who will drive the company’s supply chain.
The newly created position of Head of IT, Commercial and Supply Chain has been designed especially for the arrival of Baring, in order to help the British brand become a ‘digital retail leader’ in the 21st Century.
She will report to IT director Mike Sackman and will help Argos deliver its ‘More Choice, Available Faster’ strategy by managing the integration of supply chain infrastructure and supporting customer facing developments, such as those in digital stores.
Commenting on the appointment Sackman said: “I am delighted that Henrietta has joined the IT leadership team. Technology is at the heart of the Argos Transformation and as we build our capabilities to ensure we have a fully integrated supply chain. This is crucial to allow us to respond quickly and effectively to the marketplace.
“Her areas of focus will be on systems that show real time product availability and reduce lead times to customers, and systems that process millions of customer orders for local in store pickup or for home delivery. She is a great addition to an already strong team.”
Astonishingly, an estimated 18 million UK households have an Argos catalogue; and 96 percent of the population is never further than 10 miles from a store. It also employs more than 51,000 people throughout the UK and Ireland and is now looking to
Baring, who previously worked for Ardagh Group, said: “In my experience, it is crucial to have cross-business support and collaboration for major complex infrastructure projects to work and that is absolutely what we have here.
“With such passionate stakeholders involved I know that customers are starting to see the benefits of the plan working for them.”
In 1979, Argos's turnover topped £100 million. Its annual turnover to March 2013 was £3.29 billion. But Argos's parent group, Home Retail, has seen its profits fall from £426 million in 2008 to just £130 million in 2012. Argos itself has had a difficult recession with its overall sales figures have only just started growing again, for the first time in more than five years. From 17 stores at the end of 1973, it now has 735.