Ashford's last standalone Argos store will close next weekend, bosses have confirmed.

The huge unit on Ashford Retail Park in Sevington will shut on Saturday, August 20 as part of the company's plans to reduce the number of standalone shops it has across the UK.

The catalogue giant instead wants to open more collection points in Sainsbury's supermarkets to reduce costs by £105 million by March 2024.

A spokesman previously told KentOnline that staff have been offered jobs in alternative roles within Argos and Sainsbury's.

The company has already closed 170 Argos stores across the UK, including one in New Rents which left Ashford town centre in June 2018 and moved to Sainsbury's Bybrook on the Warren Retail Park.

This unit inside the supermarket will remain unchanged and will become Ashford's last remaining Argos.

The move came after the sale of Argos' parent company, the Home Retail Group, to Sainsbury's for £1.4 billion in 2016.

The prime New Rents spot previously housed decorating specialist Fads and a Superdrug store but was knocked into one when Argos arrived in Ashford in 1996.

The unit sat abandoned for two years before furniture chain HomePlus took over the space in June 2020.

However the firm moved again in December and now occupies the former M&S shop in County Square.

While Argos is leaving Ashford Retail Park, bakery chain Greggs has opened its second Ashford store next to Costa in the former Carphone Warehouse unit.