Argos sales rise for first time in five years Mr Duddy and the chief executive of Argos, John Walden, are launching a £300m investment plan to revitalise Argos over the next three years. This involves replacing the famous laminate catalogues in stores with touchscreen computers, offering more exclusive products, and closing around 75 stores as leases expire. Mr Duddy said: "Argos delivered like-for-like sales growth for the first time in five years and multi-channel sales broke through the 50pc threshold. Our strong financial position enables Argos to deliver on its transformation plan to become a digital retail leader, and for Homebase to invest in the rollout of its new proposition. Although Argos sales recovered, Homebase is under pressure from the challenging economic environment and cold weather in the UK. Like-for-like sales for Homebase fell by 4.9pc and operating profits halved to £11m. The company said it started trials of "dramatically different store formats" for Homebase which will include "increased levels of staff service which creates a shopping experience where customers find ideas and inspiration for their homes and gardens." In total, Home Retail's annual sales were flat at £5.48bn, with pre-tax profits rising from £104m to £130m. The company will pay a final dividend of 2p on July 24. This means the shareholder pay-out for the full year will fall by 36pc to 3p. Mr Duddy added: "Our view of the 2013/14 financial year is that it will remain similar to 2012/13 with consumer spending continuing to be impacted by ongoing inflationary pressures and low levels of consumer confidence. However, the group's strong financial position enables us to deliver on the transformation plan to reinvent Argos as a digital retail leader and to invest in the rollout of the Homebase proposition, and as a result, ensure that the group is well positioned for economic recovery.