WH Smith has no plans to grow ‘healthy’ high street presence as it eyes airports instead June 30, 2023 WH Smith boss said the retailer has no plans to open any additional high street stores but is focusing on growing its transport hub and international presence. “We’ve got a very healthy High Street business in the UK”, Carl Cowling told the BBC, “but we’ve got no ambitions to grow that”. “When you look at [...]
WH Smith, M&S and Argos among hundreds fined for failing to pay minimum wage June 21, 2023 Hundreds of businesses including high-street heavyweights WH Smith, M&S and Argos have been named and shamed after being fined for failing to pay workers the minimum wage. Firms from sole traders to household names were ordered to repay 63,000 staff lost wages totalling close to £5m, after breaching National Minimum Wage (NMW) law. WH Smith [...]
Toys ‘R’ Us returns to high street with new WH Smith partnership June 1, 2023 Toys ‘R’ Us will make its return to the high street after five years, revealing plans to open nine concession stands in WH Smith. In 2017, the children’s retailers declared bankruptcy after years of rising debt and dwindling sales and the following year it shut all 100 of its UK stores. Its collapse was linked [...]
WH Smith: Resurgent global travel boosts airport giant’s profits – and it’s committed to the high street too April 20, 2023 WH Smith has benefited significantly from the return of global air travel with a big boost in profit on last year. The popular high street newsagent reported £45m in pre-tax profits, up from £18m last year, as millions came through airports where Smiths has many outlets. In the six months to February 2023, it announced [...]
WH Smith revenues boosted by return of rail and air travellers January 18, 2023 WH Smith said revenues had surged in the first few months of its financial year today as its airport and train station-based shops reaped the rewards of a rebound in travel. In a trading update today on the 20 weeks to the 14th January, the book and stationery stalwart said that revenues ramped up 40 [...]
WH Smith swings back to profit as retailer eyes global expansion November 10, 2022 WH Smith is back in the black after footfall to airports and railway stations returned this year, following the opening up of society post-Covid. The high street staple posted group profit before tax of £63m for the year to the end of August, compared to a loss of £116m it booked the year previously. WH [...]
WH Smith high street sales lower than pre-Covid levels after Funky Pigeon hack September 7, 2022 WH Smith has said its high street arm has been impacted by a cyber security issue with its greetings cards business, denting sales. The stationery seller said its high street business was performing in line with expectations. Sales stood at 80 per cent of 2019 revenue for the 26 weeks to 27 August 2022, following [...]
WH Smith chair Henry Staunton lined up as new Post Office head August 22, 2022 The UK government is lining up outgoing WH Smith chairman Henry Staunton to head the Post Office, as it seeks to navigate the fallout of the miscarriage of justice that saw hundreds of the state-owned company’s workers wrongfully convicted of serious crimes. Former ITV finance director Staunton has been chosen as the preferred candidate to [...]
WH Smith de-risks pensions scheme via Standard Life insurance policy August 8, 2022 WH Smith on Monday said it had taken out a bulk annuity insurance policy with Standard Life, through which the Phoenix Group subsidiary will cover the costs of the retailer’s £1bn pension scheme. The high-street bookseller’s insurance policy will see Standard Life pay the pensions of the almost 13,000 members of WH Smith’s defined [...]
Covid recovery: WHSmith airport shops exceed pre-pandemic revenue levels June 15, 2022 High street staple WHSmith is anticipating its full year outturn to hit the higher end of analysts’ expectations after its travel division has surpassed pre-pandemic revenue levels. In a trading update, the stationery seller said group revenue in the 15 weeks to 11 June was ahead of 2019 levels, sitting at 107 per cent. In [...]