Press Comment
18 January 2008

Argos statement regarding Shocking Lasers

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We regret that any offence was caused by the inclusion of the Shocking Lasers product in our Autumn/Winter catalogue.

The Shocking Lasers product will not be going forward to our Summer/Spring catalogue, which launches this Saturday 19th January, and we will consider the product very carefully with regard to our Autumn/Winter 2008 catalogue. This product was originally selected on the basis of its similarity to the popular Quasar/paintball activities. However, following your comments, we appreciate that this may cause offence to some people.

As a Company, we have a clear policy regarding the inclusion of gun related products in the catalogue, and we are obviously concerned that we should not associate ourselves with products which may be considered socially unacceptable.

Argos’ product buyers and quality assurance managers work from a set of guidelines which they use when selecting and appraising new products. The guidelines highlight issues such as ethnic/religious offence, antisocial behaviours, the use of fur, materials sourced from the wild, products appropriate for children etc., enabling the Company to consider in advance whether and how it wishes to stock items that may be controversial. We are aware of the need to understand and respond to the sensitivities from selling potentially socially unacceptable products.