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The group – with a 232-year history – has put the 500 or so high street shops on the market to focus on its travel outlets, of which there are nearly 1,300 worldwide.
The travel outlets account for 75 per cent of the group’s revenues and 85 per cent of the trading profit. The potential sale has been billed as a surprise. It shouldn’t be – not with numbers like that.
WHSmith sells a mixture of stationery, books, newspapers, magazines and other bits and pieces. The branch I visited, in the Westfield shopping mall in Stratford, east London, was also hawking cheap soft toys ahead of Valentine’s Day. I’m not sure how good anyone receiving one of those is going to feel about their partner. And I also don’t know how many people will actually notice them piled up in bins at the front of the store.
Sandwiched between a bookies and a, well, sandwich shop, you could easily miss it. The M&S Simply Food opposite was doing a roaring trade when I stopped by. Sad, slightly shabby, its floor covered in black icky stuff, the WHSmith was almost empty.
This story is from the January 29, 2025 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the January 29, 2025 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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