Closing more WH Smith shops will leave a gap on the high street but there’s a reason shoppers have abandoned it
Closing more WH Smith shops will leave a gap on the high street but there’s a reason shoppers have abandoned it
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WHAT was the last thing you bought at a WH Smith shop? A magazine, a newspaper, a vape refill?. Or were you ripped off spending almost three times as much on a bottle of water, packet of crisps or chocolate bar than you would in a supermarket?. Because that is part of the reason WH Smith is planning to offload all 500 of its high street stores as it turns all its attention to its faster-growing travel business.
![[Alamy Live News. 2S9TJCA London, UK. 27 Jan 2025. A general view of a branch of retailer WH Smith at Swiss Cottage. Retailer WH Smith has announced it is selling its 500 UK high street stores to concentrate on its more lucrative travel stores at rail stations, airports and hospitals. 17 of those high street stores are set to close this year. Credit: Justin Ng/Alamy Live News This is an Alamy Live News image and may not be part of your current Alamy deal . If you are unsure, please contact our sales team to check.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/500-uk-high-street-stores-967162827.jpg)
WH Smith benefits from captive customers - when people are trapped in an airport waiting for their flights or killing time in a train station due to delays - they have little choice. It is easier for WH Smith to get away with charging sky-high prices for basics that would otherwise be available pretty much everywhere else when passengers are brain-numbed by staring at departure boards.
For the past 15 years, under Kate Swann, then Steve Clarke and now Carl Cowling WH Smith’s bosses have run its high street business for “managed decline”. They knew that there was little point in expanding further or investing heavily in its high street stores when returns (for its investors) were limited. It could be run for profit and cashflow rather than growth.
That’s not to say WH Smith hasn’t kept the high street stores going: A social media savaging by @WHS_Carpet prompted it to start spending on refurbishments especially when the City also read headlines about it being called a “national embarrassment”.
