Metropol

Seems a bit presumptuous to suggest the reason they're leaving the high street is because a lot of people didn't like their new logo!

Doesn't seem to surprise me that WHSmith have found more profit in their travel and airport stores, especially the upcharge they put on basic water! I remember going to one in a service station and being shocked at the prices for pretty much anything.

Going into a regular WHSmith always gave me the vibe of a library that felt full of itself, with beige and blue décor that honestly just reminds me heavily of a set from a daytime Channel 4 show in the 2000s.

JetixFann450 wrote: Mon 27 Jan, 2025 10.19 Seems a bit presumptuous to suggest the reason they're leaving the high street is because a lot of people didn't like their new logo!

I think it's more that the new logo/branding was so they could spin off and sell off the high street stores more easily, keeping the old branding for the travel business.

JetixFann450 wrote: Mon 27 Jan, 2025 10.19 Seems a bit presumptuous to suggest the reason they're leaving the high street is because a lot of people didn't like their new logo!

As James says above, it was more that one of the lead theories behind the awful rebrand was so that the business could be spun off with its own awful name. Perhaps the travel side would have become simply 'Smiths'.

It's more surprising that they reacted to the negativity and reversed it, to be honest; I suppose the rebrand will be whoever buys it's problem.

WillPS wrote: Sun 26 Jan, 2025 09.56 WHSmith non-travel stores for sale:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7zj8yr5x7o.amp

My presumption was this was the reason behind the terrible December 2023 rebrand. Will be interesting to see who might be interested in it.

Interesting theory. That said, WH Smith on the high street has been neglected for a good while now. I went into two on two different high streets, and it was a mess. The shelves were cluttered, lots of gaps, and the implementation of post offices and toys r us just made it a mess. I suspect the reason this hasn't happened sooner is because of the Post Offices. Whoever buys the shops will need to make a clear decision on the Post Offices in the stores that have them.

Going to be hard to get rid of them I think, WHSmith taking them on is what let them close so many stand alone branches, and they can't leave many of these places without a nearby post office.

We've already seen the issue of WHSmith closing stores with Post Office concessions that towns have been left without a replacement for months on end because it takes so long for another business to take on the franchise.

My nearest WHSmith is technically a High Street retail store, but is based next to my local London Overground station, so benefits from the footfall of passengers using the store, but also has the PO on the upper floor.

However bar Sainsbury's, there isn't really a suitable retail outlet for the PO to move into if WHSmith closes and the old Crown PO site is now a swanky bar.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/don ... h-revival/

Really good article from The Spectator about WHSmith

While I still buy paper magazines, I only buy two on a regular basis and I have subs for both of them as it works out cheaper than going to WHSmith to buy them.

Women's weekly titles used to be a nice money spinner for the publishers and then the retailers like WHSmith, but they've also declined in sales to the point where my local store will only have 2-4 of each title when it would be 10+ in the 2000s.

Not stocking a wide range of titles has also hurt. It was the place to go to get specialist titles and now it's the best sellers and newspapers which themselves are suffering from long term decline in sales as potential younger readers use social media and news apps.

Blewatter wrote: Tue 28 Jan, 2025 12.59 https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/don ... h-revival/

Really good article from The Spectator about WHSmith

Interesting that it calls out WHS Cornmarket St. This was a slightly weird store that was split in two, the newsagenty bit (25% of the floor area) on the left, and the stationary, bookstore etc (75%) on the right. For some reason the stationary side was roped off in the mornings, although they didn't seem to care if you wandered in anyway.

I write in the past tense as this is how I remember it in from 2002 or so... but I bet it's all entirely unchanged, right down to the rotating brand of chocolate on fake special offer at the checkout.

Blewatter wrote: Tue 28 Jan, 2025 12.59 https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/don ... h-revival/

Really good article from The Spectator about WHSmith

Is it? It's riddled with inaccuracies.

Wouldn't expect anything less from that rag.