Argos was originally a rebrand of the Green Shield Stamps catalogue, I think after Tesco stopped giving out stamps. Co Op stopped giving Co Op stamps about the

Argos was originally a rebrand of the Green Shield Stamps catalogue, I think after Tesco stopped giving out stamps. Co Op stopped giving Co Op stamps about the same time. The Embassy Cigarette catalogue was possibly the last points catalogue survivor! All the old Green Shield shops became the first Argos shops, and worked very much the same as they always had, just without the stamps. For the first few years you could trade old stamps.