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Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

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Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#41

Post by throwaway25190 »

tiernano wrote: post #12

on a slightly related note, Argos pulled out of the Irish market on 24th June 2023. I think a mix of Brexit and competition from Amazon and other online retailers was the final nail in the coffin. It could never compete on price, but did have a large selection of stuff...

The actual physical locations mostly only exist within Sainsbury's now *in the UK, and apparently

> The lack of a Sainsbury’s presence in the Republic of Ireland was one of the deciding factors when it came to this decision

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41169112...

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#43

Post by madog »

mjburgess wrote: post #4

Amongst the upper working class, the argos catalogue featured as a central part of holiday (christmas esp.) life until perhaps the mid-2000s. You could walk into any argos and take one of the 1000pg+ catelogues of massive pallets of them, and paw them over days. The working class, typically unsentimental in the UK, would then purchase the child's designated item for xmas. The pretence of "santa clause", i think, more…

Haha yes. I would spend months looking through that catalogue in the lead up to Christmas, comparing and cross checking items and descriptions and cost. I remember some items always felt out of reach like the Casio TV remote watch[1].

Someone has also scanned almost all Argos magazines from 70s to mid 90s - https://retromash.com/argos/

1: p100 item 14 https://issuu.com/retromash/docs/argossuperstore-1995-autumn...

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#44

Post by adhesive_wombat »

lm28469 wrote: post #23
adhesive_wombat wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How unprofitable. Much better to use bits of metallised plastic which flake to death in a few years. Cheaper to make and those suckers'll be back soon enough. You can probably fix the flex properly too, new ones often have a moulded captive boot in the cable instead of a screw clamp.

Using plastic is much better, especially for the parts in contact with water. You wouldn't want boiling water in contact with metal, it might leach chemicals that would end up in your system

If your water is acidic enough to leach stainless steel, you have bigger issues than the chromium.

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#45

Post by adammarples »

mjburgess wrote: post #4

Amongst the upper working class, the argos catalogue featured as a central part of holiday (christmas esp.) life until perhaps the mid-2000s. You could walk into any argos and take one of the 1000pg+ catelogues of massive pallets of them, and paw them over days. The working class, typically unsentimental in the UK, would then purchase the child's designated item for xmas. The pretence of "santa clause", i think, more…

Very fond memories of sitting on the floor in my granny's terraced house, looking through the argos and index catalogues, and dreaming of what I might ask for for Christmas. 1989, and the drop out "innovations" catalog was what I was really searching for, with its incredible technological marvels like Olivetti personal organisers.

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#46

Post by adammarples »

Marazan wrote: post #21

Argos were well ahead of the curve shopping tech wise which formed a large part of the reason that Sainsburys bought them. While Amazon was being pleased as punch about offering next day delivery on items (actual delivery time highly variable) Argos was offering completely reliable _same day_ delivery. It is quite amazing how smooth the process is, even if you cant get same day delivery you will invariably be able to…

I actually briefly worked on the backend of Sainsbury's/Argos supply chain data infrastructure

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#47

Post by scrumper »

kwhitefoot wrote: post #38
scrumper wrote: post #26

Wow, what a trip. The Russell Hobbs chrome-on-copper (number 11, first page of the '76 catalog) is like a wormhole to my childhood kitchen. I remember that red rocker switch so clearly now, how it felt to turn it on and off. It was beautifully spring loaded, so you'd push it a bit then the spring would take over and snap it on. My mum taught me how to make her a cup of tea when I was old enough to reach it - well bef…

> you'd push it a bit then the spring would take over and snap it on. Ah, a proper toggle switch! I thought they had gone the way of the dodo.

I mean they did, the kettle was built in 1976 :)

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#48

Post by qingcharles »

mikestew wrote: post #5

Argos pioneered a new form of catalogue retail where customers made their order in one of the company’s high-street shops before waiting for their items to be brought out from the warehouse at the rear. Sounds a lot like the British version of the U. S.'s Service Merchandise[0]. Write down your order on a little sheet of paper, hand it to store personnel, wait for your items to come rolling down the roller ramp. On a…

The UK between 1945 and 1985 was practically a communist country. The government owned significant portions of industry, housing, healthcare, transport, manufacturing etc. Vital industries including coal, steel, water, electricity, gas, railways, and airlines were nationalized under the Labour government's program following the Second World War. The National Health Service (NHS) was established in 1948, offering government-funded healthcare to all residents.

IIRC correctly in the early 80s the highest tax band was 95%.

I asked GPT4 to convince me that the UK was actually a communist nation during that time, but it won't bite: "While the UK did assert considerable control over various industries from 1950 to 1980 (paralleling elements of communist societies), its democratic governance, surviving private industry, and support of property rights exhibit significant deviations from true communism. The era could more accurately be described as an age of robust social democracy." (emphasis mine)

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#49

Post by Graffur »

adhesive_wombat wrote: post #37
Graffur wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most children do not know what a "thought-experiment" is. I actually feel very sorry for you and other children who never believed.

Well I didn't know it was called that at the time. If I recall, a book, perhaps Alice in Quantumland , or some other similar book named the idea for me eventually. I also didn't know how what oxygen was called, once upon a time, and somehow managed to breathe. Anyway, I feel grateful to my parents that they managed to feed imagination without deceit, and I also appreciated that gifts came from my parents, some reques…

You said "I thought everyone was just playing up to the same fun thought-experiment" which implies you did that thinking at the time. I'm not questioning whether you knew how to breathe or understood the mechanics of it. I can only go by the information you provided.

Your reply even shows you don't understand the magic of Christmas that some children felt.

> I feel grateful to my parents that they managed to feed imagination without deceit

You're framing this deceit as a bad thing. What do you think about parents pretending a child's spoon is an airplane?

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