In 1998, Argos sold Philips home solariums, including a £329 canopy sunbed and a £899 folding tanning machine.
The Autumn/Winter 1998/99 catalogue listed the Original Home Solarium (445/1363), a ten-tube, 1.8 m full-body unit with a curved canopy. The Top to Toe Solarium (445/1394) used four lamps and folded into a wheeled, suitcase-like unit.
The two were distinct catalogue products, although their exact Philips factory-model identities remain unconfirmed. Both original models are no longer marketed, with their production end dates unknown.
History
The Autumn/Winter 1998/99 catalogue listed the Original Home Solarium (445/1363), a ten-tube, 1.8 m full-body unit with a curved canopy. The Top to Toe Solarium (445/1394) used four lamps and folded into a wheeled, suitcase-like unit.
History
The two were distinct catalogue products, although their exact Philips factory-model identities remain unconfirmed. Both original models are no longer marketed, with their production end dates unknown.
Significance
These machines show how domestic ultraviolet tanning had become a substantial consumer purchase by the late 1990s. Argos sold them alongside ordinary personal-care products, offering delivery and six months’ interest-free credit on the £899 folding model.
The listings capture a period when home tanning equipment was marketed as an aspirational convenience. They also contrast with today's established understanding of ultraviolet tanning risks, including skin cancer, making the catalogue a revealing document of changing consumer attitudes.
Argos Catalogue Listings
- Philips Original Home Solarium: catalogue number 445/1363, £329.
- Philips Top to Toe Solarium: catalogue number 445/1394, £899.
- The Top to Toe listing included delivery and six months’ interest-free credit.
Original Home Solarium Specification
- 1.8 m ten-tube full-body unit with a curved canopy and protective lamp screen.
- Gas-sprung height adjustment from 67 to 97 cm, cooling fan and 60-minute automatic timer.
- Supplied with two pairs of goggles, instructions and castors.
Top to Toe Folding Design
- Four high-pressure HPA lamps with a soft-tanning filter, remote control and digital shut-off timer.
- Adjustable height, built-in distance meter, lock, wheels and hand grips.
- Argos described the folded unit as suitcase-like; related Philips manuals document comparable transportable designs without proving an exact factory-model match.
Key facts
**Associated With:** Philips - manufacturer; Argos - retailer
**Defining Feature:** Domestic ultraviolet-tanning appliances: a canopy unit and a folding, wheeled unit
**Status:** Discontinued — original Philips models no longer marketed; exact production end dates unconfirmed.
Associated With
Philips - manufacturer; Argos - retailer
Defining Feature
Domestic ultraviolet-tanning appliances: a canopy unit and a folding, wheeled unit
Status
Discontinued — original Philips models no longer marketed; exact production end dates unconfirmed.
Images are included for historical and archival reference.
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