WH Smith in talks to sell high street stores

WH Smith is in talks to sell its high street stores, the British retailer has said.

The firm said that it was "exploring potential strategic options for this profitable and cash-generative part of the group, including a possible sale", in a statement on Saturday.

It went on to say that over the past decade, the business had become "a focused global travel retailer", with its travel arm having more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries.

The announcement comes amid a difficult economic outlook for high street retailers and following years of unfavourable consumer sentiment towards the chain.

The first of WH Smith's 500 high street stores opened more than 230 years ago, operating as a news vendor. It has since grown into a major high street and travel retailer.

The travel retail business side of WH Smith - which operates from airports, train stations and hospitals - now accounts for more than 85% of its profit. The high street business makes up the rest.

The retailer said there was "no certainty that any agreement will be reached", but added that it would provide updates on the possible sale.

It employs around 5,000 people at its high street shops.

Around 200 of its stores also have a Post Office counter which are staffed by WH Smith employees.

Commenting on the future of those counters, the Post Office said it is in contact with WH Smith "to understand more about their plans for their high street stores".

Last November, the state-owned Post Office announced it was reviewing the future of 115 branches it owns. One option it was exploring was a franchise arrangement with WH Smith.

WH Smith was valued at £1.5bn at the close of business on Friday. That figure represents the value of the entire group.

Catherine Shuttleworth, a consumer retail analyst at Savvy Marketing, said shopping behaviour in the UK had "radically changed", reducing the reasons to visit stores like WH Smith.

"Most of us read our news online not in magazines and newspapers, we download books and send birthday cards through online operators," she said.

The focus for a business like WH Smith was now "in shops in high footfall areas like airports, stations and hospitals," Ms Shuttleworth added.

For years the UK's high street has witnessed a change in its make-up, with flagship retailers such as Wilko going bust due to a mismatch between the cost of business upkeep and the amount of revenue stores bring in.

Retail consultant Richard Hyman said Saturday's news "comes as no surprise" as WH Smith's high street stores had been "underperforming for many years" while being a generalist retailer has become increasingly difficult.

The retail specialist highlighted that WH Smith is not alone, pointing at the demise of other big retail names, such as Debenhams and Woolworths.

Commenting on WH Smith's future, Mr Hyman said he is "yet to come across anyone on a retail leadership team who thinks the outcome is anything other than bleak".

Many WH Smith high street shops also have a Post Office counter

Revenue from WH Smith's high street stores dropped by £17m in 2024 compared with the year before, but profits stayed the same after the business closed 14 of its stores last year.

Its high street stores have also been viewed unfavourably by consumers.

In 2019, a Which? survey found WH Smith ranked the lowest among high street retailers - the ninth year in a row it appeared in the bottom two spots - with shoppers describing the stationery specialist as "cramped and messy".

Nicholas Found, of the Retail Economics research consultancy, said potential buyers may see opportunities to "restructure and reimagine WH Smith's high street presence", albeit in a "challenging climate".

Speaking after WH Smith's most recent financial results, group chief executive Carl Cowling said: "Our UK high street business continued to deliver its strategy of managing space to maximise returns and maintaining a flexible cost structure."

He cited the opening of dozens of Toys R Us "shop-in-shops" in the latter half of 2024 as an example of this. Toys R Us went bust in 2018 and a deal was struck with WH Smith to host concession stands.

Mr Cowling told the BBC in 2023 that the retailer would not be opening any more high street stores in the UK. Instead, it would focus on UK airports and train stations, as well as opening shops in the US and Europe.

Mr Found said it was clear that WH Smith had "strategically pivoted" towards the "fast-growing" travel retail business. Dropping its high street business, he added, would allow it to focus entirely on this new direction.