Hawick's Argos moving from Homebase to Sainsbury's next month

Argos is to move out of Homebase in Hawick to Sainsbury's.

It’s been a fluid time for traders in the town over recent months.

In February, a new Lidl store opened its doors in Wilton Path, and work is now progressing on a new Aldi supermarket in the town’s Commercial Road.

Meanwhile, the Fonehouse outlet in the High Street is soon to relocate to larger premises in the former Streets Ahead building in Liddesdale Road.

Argos is to open inside the Sainsbury's at Hawick next month.

And now it has emerged that the Argos store within Homebase, on Galalaw Business Park, is closing down at the end of May.

The move comes after Homebase was taken over by Australian retailer Wesfarmers last year.

All the Argos staff based at Homebase are to be transferred to a new digital store within Sainsbury’s Hawick outlet in Commercial Road.

The new store will open at the end of May, “bringing extra choice and convenience to customers”, according to a spokesman for the catalogue firm.

He added: “It will offer thousands of popular products for immediate pick-up.

“20,000 products can also be ordered to collect in store within hours, and 20,000 extra products can be ordered for home delivery.

“There will also be an eBay collection point so buyers can collect their eBay purchases.”

The move comes after Sainsbury’s acquired Home Retail Group, owner of Argos, and is part of its declared strategy to help its customers shop “whenever and wherever they want”.

The spokesman added: “The combination of Sainsbury’s and Argos will enable customers to shop conveniently through different online, mobile and store channels.

“It will also give customers more choice across different product ranges, creating the UK’s largest non-food retailer.”

David Mills, a spokesperson for Sainsbury’s, said: “We are really thrilled to welcome Argos and its team to the Hawick store.

“The new shop is great news for customers who are looking for easier, more convenient ways to shop.

“We’re looking forward to offering them an increased range of products at great value, all under one roof.”

Argos moved into the Homebase premises back in August 2015.