Acquisition

Great Universal Stores PLC
1 September 2000

                                                                              
 
                            GUS TO ACQUIRE JUNGLE.COM
                                        
The Great Universal Stores P.L.C. ('GUS') today announces that it has agreed
heads of terms to acquire all of the issued share capital of jungle.com for a
cash consideration of £37m including the repayment of about £12 million of
debt.The transaction is expected to complete next week.

jungle.com (www.jungle.com) has developed a leading position selling PCs,
computer peripherals and software, as well as console and computer games,
music and videos through its web sites, catalogues and telesales operation. 
It isconsistently rated among the top five most visited e-tailing sites in the
UK.Independent market research places jungle.com as the second most recognised
e-tailer in the UK, behind Amazon.  Sales in the 12 months to 31 July 2000
were £75 million, and losses before tax, after a full write off of
technologicaldevelopments (£2 million) and launch marketing costs (£5
million), were £11.4 million.

Steve Bennett, founder and Chief Executive of jungle.com, has signed a four
year contract and will report to Terry Duddy, Chief Executive of the Argos
Retail Group.  Other senior management are committed to staying with
jungle.com for a minimum two year period.

GUS believes that the acquisition will bring considerable benefits to both
jungle.com and Argos.

Growth market:  expenditure on computer peripherals, hardware and software is
forecast to grow rapidly, both through e-commerce and other channels.  The
acquisition of jungle.com will enable GUS to participate fully in this growth.

Strong brand:  since the launch of its web site in August 1999, jungle.com has
built up a leading position in its on-line markets in terms of brand
awareness, customer visits, web site performance and customer service and
support. The company has developed leading edge technology that offers many
unique buying tools and value added services for its on-line customers. At 31
July 2000, it had 370,000 registered customers on its consumer web site.

A wider product range for Argos: the acquisition will enable Argos both to
develop critical mass and expand its product offering in the home office
market. By adding jungle.com's products to its own office furniture, storage
and accessories range, Argos will be able to offer its customers a wider range
of products, through whichever channel they choose to shop.

John Peace, Chief Executive of GUS, said:

'There is a strong strategic fit between these two businesses.  For the first
time, GUS will be able to offer its customers a wide range of computer and
office products via the most convenient channel, be it ordering via store,
catalogue or internet, for delivery to store, home or work. With this
acquisition, GUS is establishing itself as a leading e-commerce retailer, with
annual sales of well over £50m.'

Steve Bennett, founder and Chief Executive of jungle.com, said:

'GUS gives jungle.com the muscle to take us to the next stage in our growth. 
Of the many offers we had for the business, GUS was by far the best fit.  For
me, the chance to develop this business as part of GUS is a compelling
proposition and one that I relish. With their experience in personal finance
and home delivery, and the opportunity to add their product ranges to the
jungle.com mix, we have a great platform for growth.'


Enquiries

GUS       David Tyler         Finance Director         0207 495 0070
          Fay Dodds           Investor Relations

Finsbury  Rupert Younger                               0207 251 3801

The announcement is also available on the GUS web site: www.gusplc.co.uk

Notes to Editors

jungle.com

The inspiration for jungle.com came from Steve Bennett, who, in 1992, founded
Software Warehouse plc, one of the UK's largest computer mail order companies.
With the backing of 3i, Steve has been the main driver of the development of
jungle.com.

Several of the key managers at jungle.com also played a major part in helping
Software Warehouse achieve its phenomenal growth, which, from 1994 to 1998,
won The UK's Fastest Growing Company award from the Independent on Sunday.

Steve Bennett has formed and sold a number of companies, making him one of the
UK's most successful entrepreneurs.  His emphasis in business is customer
service and such is his passion on the subject that he recently published a
book called Serve to Win.

Argos Retail Group

The Argos Retail Group has four operating divisions: Argos, Home Shopping UK
and Ireland, Home Shopping Continental Europe and Financial Services.  It is a
major multi-channel retailing organisation, with total sales of over £4bn and
profits of over £180m.

Argos is the UK's leading catalogue retailer, through 462 high street and edge
of town outlets, including 12 in the Republic of Ireland.  With its catalogues
in almost 70% of the nation's homes, Argos is the UK brand leader across a
range of goods, including toys, jewellery and small electricals.

The Argos Retail Group is also the UK's largest home shopping retailer,
through both agency and direct catalogues and its web sites.  It offers over
1,200 pages of clothing, home and leisure goods, as well as credit and
financial products to over four million customers.

It operates direct mail catalogues in the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and
Switzerland, sending out nearly four million catalogues a season.