1. How many stores do you have?
• Our High Street Retail business has 548 stores across and our Travel Retail business operates 259 outlets at airport and station locations.
• In terms of selling space overall the business has 3.3 million square feet of selling space; 3 million square feet of which is in our High Street business and 0.3 million square feet of which is managed by our Travel Retail business.


2. What format are your stores?
• Our High Street Retail business operates:
• 114 large stores (of more than 8,000 square feet)
• 263 medium stores (of 3,000 to 8,000 square feet)
• 171 small stores (up to 3,000 square feet)
• In Travel Retail our stores range in size from 90 square feet in Perth to 9,912 square feet at London Victoria with an average store size of 1,130 square feet


3. How many lines do you sell in your stores?
• In a large WHSmith store we sell circa 25,000 lines and a typical Travel store stocks circa 3,500 lines


4. How many employees do you have?
• WHSmith employs 17,000 employees across its retail business.


5. What is your Board's structure?
• The Board comprises John Barton, Mike Ellis, Luke Mayhew, Alan Stewart, Kate Swann and Robert Walker
• Robert Walker was appointed non-executive Chairman of the Board on 1 February 2005
• Executive directors of the Company and members of the Board are:
  • Kate Swann (Group Chief Executive)
  • Alan Stewart (Group Finance Director)
• Non-executive directors are:
  • John Barton (Head of the Remuneration Committee)
  • Mike Ellis (Head of the Audit Committee)
  • Luke Mayhew
• The Audit Committee comprises Mike Ellis - Chairman, John Barton and Luke Mayhew
• The Remuneration Committee comprises of John Barton - Chairman, Luke Mayhew and Mike Ellis
• The Nominations Committee comprises of Robert Walker - Chairman, John Barton, Mike Ellis and Kate Swann


6. What is WHSmith's mission statement?
• WHSmith PLC's aim is to be Britain's most popular bookseller, stationer and newsagent.


7. What products do you sell?
• The high street business sells a wide range of newspapers, magazines, stationery, books and entertainment products, while WHSmith Travel sells a tailored range of newspapers, magazines, books and confectionery products for people on the move.


8. Who are your main competitors?
• WHSmith's main competitors in books are Waterstones, Borders (including Books etc.), Amazon.co.uk, independent booksellers and the supermarkets.
• In entertainment (DVD and music), WHSmith's main competitors are HMV, Virgin, Woolworths, supermarkets, online retailers and independent specialists.


9. Where can I find information about your financial performance?
• Please visit the Investor Relations section of this website.


10. When did WHSmith open its first store?
• Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna opened a small news vendors in Little Grosvenor Street, London in 1792. More detail about the Company's development can be found in our history section.


11. What is your environmental policy?
• Please visit the Corporate Responsibility Section of this website.


12. What support do you give charitable causes?
• Please visit the Corporate Responsibility Section of this website.


13. How do I get to your head office?
• Please click here for directions to our Head Offices.