Gravity finally catches up with WH Smith on the high street Despite the retailer being a recent example of pragmatic management, the pandemic might have sealed its fate.
Even as annual revenues dwindled from £1.1bn in 2005 to £600m in 2017, profits on the high street increased – never mind the occasional table-topping appearance in “worst retailer” polls.
Meanwhile, the group as a whole transformed itself by channelling its investment into its “travel” division, meaning shops with semi-captive customers in airports and railway stations at home and abroad; those now number 1,200 across 32 countries.
After the pandemic, high street profits came back at half the old level of £60m-ish.
The City now views the scruffy 500-strong high street operation as a drag, rather than a miracle in retailing on a shoestring.
