Jim Armitage: Spanner in the works won’t scare Sainsbury’s off Argos
Well, it wasn’t meant to look like that.
Home Retail Group’s recent trading has turned out as misshapen as my efforts to build flatpack Argos furniture.
The DIY sheds analysts thought were worthless until last night’s bid from Down Under are actually doing rather nicely.
But Argos, which we’re now supposed to see as the modern jewel of the High Street, saw its sales tumble more than 2%.
Does that throw a Homebase spanner in the works of the Sainsbury’s deal for Argos? Perhaps not.
Drill deeper into the numbers and the bits Sainsbury is really interested in don’t look quite so bad: the new Argos concessions in Homebase and Sainsbury’s stores are working well, but their numbers aren’t included in the poor like-for-like sales figures.
And online, click-and-collect and home delivery are still growing fast.
This wonky set of figures won’t dull Sainsbury’s ardour.
Goldman’s turn?
Wesfarmers has hired Lazard for its takeover of Homebase. HRG is using Merrill Lynch, Sainsbury’s is using Morgan Stanley and UBS.
So, in this high-profile takeover tale, where is Goldman Sachs?
With bonus time looming large, its retail team must have something up their well-tailored sleeves to impress their bosses.
A rival bidder for HRG perhaps?
