Today’s update from WH Smith implied that it may be time to consider waving goodbye to the high street for good.
Sales were down 2% in the 20 weeks to 14 January compared to a year earlier for the group’s high street locations.
In comparison, its travel business reported a 77% uptick in sales, benefiting from the easing of COVID restrictions globally.
Read more: WH Smith sales fly higher as travel industry recovers
Given the contrast between the two divisions, and the outlook for the high street in general, there is a discussion to be had about what the travel and stationery retailer does moving forward. said analysts.
“Our experts say that WHSmith should look to get rid of a number of unprofitable sites and move into smaller stores elsewhere,” said Zainab Atiyyah, at research house Third Bridge.
“WHSmith’s UK high street retail business is slowly dying. Very few people go to the high street to buy small value items such as stationery anymore. They are under massive pressure from online retailers such as Amazon.”
Indeed, data from the British Retail Consortium would back that up, with total UK footfall in 2022 11.8% below pre-pandemic levels.
Clawing back on its high-street business is not a new thing and was first started years ago by former boss Kate Swann.
During her nearly 10 years at WH Smith as chief executive officer, between 2003 and 2013, Swann was responsible for a ‘managed decline’ of WHSmith’s high street locations.
This, somewhat hilariously, was covered by the Twitter account @WHS_Carpet, which made fun of the threadbare carpets, outdated displays and general lack of tidiness in stores.
— carpet (@WHS_Carpet) January 6, 2023
Swann’s tenure was impressive nonetheless, with the financials improving, although this was never represented in the stock price movement.
Interestingly, Swann also pushed the formation of the travel business, putting more outlets and concessions into airports and railway stations as part of her wider overhaul of the company.
Evidently, the group’s switch away from the high street and into travel hotspots has been in motion for the best part of two decades.
Current and future trends, however, could force WHSmith into action, and finally, lead them to ditch the town centres.