Argos shuns own brand tablets in new stores
IT HAS only been a matter of weeks since Argos heralded the launch of its own, super-cheap tablet, pitching the £99 MyTablet as the perfect budget choice – with built in Argos apps to help direct customers to making purchases from its other product ranges.
So The Capitalist was surprised to see bright and shiny Apple iPads lining counters at the launch of the company’s new digital store yesterday – primed and ready to process orders, replacing the iconic Argos catalogue.
Not a MyTablet in sight.
So were the rumours true? Had Argos given up on its tech dream in the middle of the UK’s Christmas shopping spree?
Not at all. Denying any teething troubles for their own product, management claimed that they’d plumped for iPads instead because in-store tablets needed to withstand a lot of use (customers prodding at the screen all day) and be superfast and reliable. Apparently the MyTablet was “never designed for commercial use”.
Hardly a vote of confidence in its own hardware, but maybe the problem was simply one of supply and demand.
While the Apple Store promises to dispatch its £329 iPads within 24 hours, both the pink and silver version of Argos’s bargain alternative are currently out of stock on its website.