Argos to create 175 part-time seasonal jobs

Argos is to create a further 175 part-time jobs in Ireland to cover increased demand over the forthcoming festive season.

The jobs will cover all of the catalogue and online retailer’s 40 Irish stores, with new team members receiving staff discounts of 10%. All positions will be just for the Christmas retail season.

Argos — which opened its first Irish store in early 1996 — claims to be one of the largest retail employers in the country, with around 1,500 full-time staff.

“As we approach our busiest shopping period of the year, we need the extra support in our stores to ensure that we can deliver great service to the hundreds of thousands of customers who shop with us at this time. We are looking for people who are customer focused, passionate and enthusiastic to join our teams,” said Andy McClelland, Argos’s national operations manager.

Yesterday, Home Retail Group — the British retail group which owns both Argos and DIY chain, Homebase — reported a 3% year-on-year increase in first-half sales to just under £2.6bn.

The six months to the end of August showed like-for-like sales rises of 2.3% at Argos and 5.9% at Homebase.

Argos has now seen like-for-like sales growth for five consecutive quarters, with mobile internet sales now accounting for 16% of its total sales.