British catalogue retailer Argos Limited, doing business as Argos, is present in Great Britain and formerly had operations there. Richard Tompkins founded the business in November 1972, and it was given the Greek city of Argos as its name. In 2016, the Sainsbury's grocery store chain bought it. With 29 million annual shop customers and almost a billion annual web visits, Argos conducts business both offline and online. The business has also established franchises in other nations, including China.

Richard Tompkins, who had previously launched Green Shield Stamps in the UK, started Argos. The idea was to allow customers to make cash purchases from his "Green Shield Gift House" rather than using savings stamps. Beginning in July 1973, the original Green Shield Stamps catalogue stores were rebranded as Argos. BAT Industries paid £32 million for Argos in 1979, and by 1982, it was the UK's fourth-largest jewellery store. In 1990, the business split off from BAT Industries and went public on the London Stock Exchange.

Argos has experienced a lot of changes recently. Home Retail Group, the company that owns Argos, consented to Sainsbury's acquisition for £1.4 billion in 2016. As a result, numerous high street and retail park businesses closed, and a neighbouring Sainsbury's facility was converted into an Argos branch. After 47 years of production, Argos stated that it would stop making its printed catalogue in 2020. Despite these modifications, Argos continues to rank among the biggest general merchandise merchants in the UK, both offline and online.