To wonder what WH Smith's secret is...

[HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone]

So news this morning suggests that WH Smith are struggling again and have reported losses and a plan to overhaul their stores. As part of this review they have announced they are closing 6 of their stores (they still have 610 stores on the high street and 839 travel outlets in airports, train stations etc).

Am I the only one amazed that they are only closing 6 stores. I cannot think of a single thing they sell that cannot be purchased elsewhere for less. Whilst it is horrible news for those employed at these stores, how on earth are they still operating? Other than merging some post offices into some of their stores what key service do they provide to make them such a viable business? What is the secret to their survival when so many bigger stores have disappeared?

Do they have a 100% monopoly in most places regarding this area or would it be possible for another shop to open stores to compete?

That's up to the landlord, i.e. the service station, airport, train station or hospital. Usually, they're able to charge exorbitant rents and service charges on condition that there is no (or restricted/controlled) competition. It'll all be agreed in the lease negotiations.

As I said, I can only imagine WH Smith's selling a decent amount of magazines and newspapers when there is no other option.#

You mean like most High Streets and retail parks then. There are very few newsagents around these days. As someone said upthread, WHS are "last man standing" as regards news and mags on the High Street, shopping centres and retail parks. Try finding your Daily Express and Radio Times anywhere else in the Trafford Centre for example.

WHS High street and stations/airports stores are two separate businesses.
The travel business makes money. The high street one doesn't. God knows how they are still going.

The high street one doesn't.

Yes it does. The High Street arm made £60million which is very respectable and only 3% down from last year, which is pretty impressive given the tough High Street conditions.

Josh Widdecombe made a joke about Heathrow needing a 3rd runway, noting that he was surprised it only had 2 when it has 5 W.H. Smiths.

That's not an airport. That's a newsagents with excellent travel connections

Josh Widdecombe made a joke about Heathrow needing a 3rd runway, noting that he was surprised it only had 2 when it has 5 W.H. Smiths

How is that even a joke? Surely it needs at least 1 newsagent per terminal or are passengers expected to go from one terminal to another just to buy a paper?

How is that even a joke?

I don't know, the joke police were engaged.

I work for a very large corporate and my colleague manages their account. The profit is all at the airports and train stations. The high street shops are a loss leader.

It does beg the question as to why they keep going in the High Street. I know Tesco for example want to be seen everywhere and dominate the area. WH Smith is nothing like that!

Ours has the Post Office so there's always going to be through traffic.

DD did work experience there , spent her soul destroying hours re-organising the cards and sorting through the chocolate by date (some of it was well OOD)

Some customers were lovely , some were utter c**ts , she was Yr 10 , and she did try to help people but anything she didn't know , she got help.

And I don't think I have ever got the 3 for 2 Offers to go through first time , whether at the till or Self Serve , I always double check and add up the price . When I say "That should be third one free" they're all meh .

I am really surprised its still going TBH.

Local store does provide newspapers, stationery etc and books. They have a cosy corner for children's section which is usually busy. Would be sorely missed in our location. It is more expensive for some items will agree.

Ours survives purely because the Post Office is in there.

I wonder as they have been long established whether their leases are low cost, or they own many of their stores. The in-store Post Offices and the newspaper distribution bits must contribute.

Ours has the post office. It is also the only place in our town where you can get ink cartridges and a few other bits and bobs of stationery, plus some magazines, so I do go in there for those things from time to time.

"Magazines etc you can get from any other store"

Well, if you live in the sticks, this is certainly not the case. I buy about half my magazines there, most of which are not available elsewhere

I refuse to use them as either you have to use the self-service tills which rarely work properly, or you get encouraged to buy Cadbury's chocolate which I boycott because of the destruction to the rainforest.

I don't think my life is poorer for it, I can't think of anything in there which other shops in our town sell in a nicer way.

Every time I walk past it looks as though it's shut. Then I remember that they only have about two lightbulbs for the whole shop and it's really dark and dingy in there.

I think their secret is the train station contract. That's when you use them, when you're catching a train. Of course they are a 'great British institution' but that didn't save Woolworths. I bet Woolworths would still be around if we all needed to buy string and ironing board covers while waiting for a train.
I have also noticed with WHSmith that they are heavy on confectionery. They have no ethics etc. about what they sell and YES they charge a lot. Also if I do go in there (rare, and always to get a newspaper) they give out vouchers and promotional bits. Not sure what because I chuck them straight away, but nowhere else does this. Maybe that's something to do with their success?

Our local WHS is nearly always empty, it's pretty much a browsing outlet for Amazon.

I've been wondering about WH Smith's for years, thinking it must be on the brink of closure. Same for Dorothy Perkins, they seem really desperate at the moment with constant 25% off deals

They closed the bookshop one they had in our local shopping centre and moved it back into the main shop. It’s often quiet.

I often wonder this. We have one our high street and to be honest i would be sad to see it go - ours had a downstairs record department back in the day, many a fond memory of buying a top 40 single with my pocket money.

They do have a extensive magazine selection, and they have nice Birthday cards but I don't often buy much else. I only buy books when they are offer and also stationery when I spot a bargain.

They are one of those annoying shops that have completely different offers/prices online, I went in once and same item was more expensive in store and was just told they are separate businesses so tough luck.

Oh and I buy the occasional cut price cook book, that I only ever look at the pictures of....

The one in my local town always seems so dirty and untidy. I think the last thing I bought there was Christmas cards because they happened to have charity ones that I wanted. Bizarrely, when they closed the main post office building, they moved a P.O. counter into the convenience store right next to WHSmiths. Would have made much more sense to have it in Smiths!

This is making me remember how wonderful it was in the 80s, when it was the main books retailer, before the arrival of Amazon and Waterstones.

It was a real weekend destination for me and my early teenage friends - we'd spend hours browsing books. I think I read Joan Collins' Guide to being Real Woman from cover to cover! 😂

They probably survive on the number of useless gift tokens given as Xmas presents every year and never used, found under the bed about 3 years later when they have expired.

This is so true. My FiL always gets the kids a voucher for WHSmiths. There's nothing they really want in there and they usually end up buying a lot of stationery that they could have got for a fraction of the price in Poundland!

The only thing I can think of is the magazine choice. If you like to go and buy it Esther than get it delivered then they do tend to have a wider choice than supermarkets and newsagents and the prices of magazines are the same everywhere.

We don’t have one in our town. A nearby town has a small one and I wonder how it survives as the town is known as quite a poor area.

We have one in our small town and I'm amazed it's still there. If I have to go in there I find the staff indifferent or invisible. It's a very small branch but it has two self service checkouts and just one proper till. This is usually unmanned.