WH Smith PLC is one of the UK’s leading retailers and is made up of two core businesses – Travel and High Street.
The Travel business operates 586 units, mainly in airports, railway stations, motorway service areas, hospitals and workplaces, primarily in the UK. Travel stores sell a tailored range of products, to cater for people on the move or in need of a convenience offer. Travel’s typical customer has less time to browse than the High Street customer and is more interested in reading materials for a journey as well as purchasing food, drink and confectionery. Due to their location and convenience nature, Travel stores are, on average, significantly smaller than those in the High Street portfolio.
At 29 February 2012, Travel operated from a total of 0.5m square feet of selling space, with units ranging in size from 90 square feet to more than 6,000 square feet. Of the 586 Travel units, 143 are in airports, 122 in railway stations, 121 in motorway service areas (most of which are franchise units), 112 in hospitals, 37 in locations such as bus stations and workplaces and 9 units operated under the Funky Pigeon brand. 42 units are in non-UK locations: Republic of Ireland, Denmark, India, Australia and Oman.
The High Street business operates 611 stores with an extensive reach across the UK and a presence on nearly every significant UK high street. At 29 February 2012, High Street operated from a total of 3.1m square feet of selling space, with stores ranging in size from 777 square feet to more than 23,000 square feet.
High Street sells a wide range of products, which are divided into four categories: Stationery (including greetings cards), Books, and News and Impulse (including newspapers, magazines, confectionery and other impulse products), as well as a small offer of Entertainment products in some stores. High Street’s trading is seasonal, peaking at Christmas, with other peaks at Easter and in August and September for the ‘Back to School’ range.
The online business is operated by High Street and sells a range of Books, Stationery, Magazines and Gifts through its website at www.whsmith.co.uk and personalised cards and gifts through www.funkypigeon.com.
Overall, WHSmith employs approximately 16,000 staff, primarily in the UK.
WH Smith PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SMWH) and is part of the FTSE mid 250 Index.
A commitment to the principles of corporate responsibility is at the heart of WHSmith. We continue to be ranked highly in the Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index in recognition of our performance.
