WH Smith to leave high streets? Plans to sell 500 stores to HMV owner

WH Smith may soon disappear from British high streets. The chain, which was founded in the 18th century, plans to sell 500 stores, to focus on travel retail locations.

Stations and airports

Another British retail classic may be retreating from the high streets: bookstore chain WH Smith is set to undergo a “strategic transformation” to focus entirely on the more successful travel retail sector (stores in airports, train stations, and hospitals). This is not entirely a new development: the company opened what was likely the world’s first newsstand in a station back in 1848.

Last year, three quarters of WH Smith’s turnover of over two billion euros already came from the travel retail division. This segment is also by far the most profitable, as high street locations are increasingly under pressure from online retailers and changing consumer behaviour.

The company has confirmed that it is in talks with potential buyers, including Doug Putman, the Canadian entrepreneur who saved HMV from bankruptcy in 2019, as well as restructuring firms like Alteri and Hilco. A sale brings significant uncertainty for the 5,000 employees in the affected stores. Many of these stores have short-term leases, and analysts predict that a new owner may close stores or cut jobs to reduce costs.