WHSmith has a future – just not on the high street

Since 1792, WHSmith has been a fixture of British town centres as a retailer of books, newspapers and stationery. But that legacy isn’t as lucrative as its main income stream: selling high-margin snacks and phone chargers to tired travellers in train stations and airports.

Like most traditional shops in the age of Amazon, WHSmith’s 500-strong high street arm faces a bleak future.

Footfall is decreasing, sales are weak, rents and rates remain high, and as supermarkets and discount stores continue to diversify, it no longer has a USP.

Meanwhile its travel arm generates 85 per cent of the group’s profit and is the dominant retailer in its category.

A looming sell-off will cast off the high street division, threatening the closure of hundreds of shops.

Any sale is unlikely to include the brand name. As Woolworths, Wilko and now WHSmith shows, history counts for little on the high street.