Supporting journeys across the UK
The UK is the largest Group division and operates stores in a wide range of locations, including airports, the largest channel, as well as hospitals, railway stations and motorway service areas across the UK. Our strategy is to become a one-stop-shop for travel essentials across UK transport hubs, supporting customers on their journeys.
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£ 834 m
A one-stop-shop solution
With WHSmith for travel essentials, and InMotion - our world-leading digital accessories retailer - at UK airports, we're continuing to grow our presence around the UK, providing our customers with the essentials we know make their journey just that little bit better. We also partner with some of the UK's most popular retailers, such as Marks and Spencer (M&S), Costa Coffee and Well Pharmacy. This allows us to tailor the product and service proposition to meet the needs of our customers and landlord partners in all the locations we operate in throughout the UK.
UK channels
In the UK, we operate stores in travel locations and hospitals, with stores ranging in size from 90 square feet to more than 6,000 square feet, and we're constantly evolving the way we do things; opening new world-leading stores, transforming our customer's experience, increasing our category ranges and continuing to grow our network of third-party partnerships. Explore our current UK channels to see how we aim to make every one of life's journeys better.
We have an extensive and growing airport estate, both domestically and internationally, and currently operate in 29 UK airports and over 120 airports internationally. We operate in every major UK airport, including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, London Luton, Manchester and Edinburgh. In addition, our WHSmith stores for travel essentials, including Post Offices, and InMotion stores, offer a superior customer service experience and an extensive range of tech accessories and premium products from brands such as Apple and Samsung.
We continue to invest in our different formats, with tailored product offerings in UK airports providing our customers with the essentials we know make their journey just that little bit easier.
We have partnered with Well Pharmacy, the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK, delivering a 'one-stop-shop' format in our UK stores. Our Gatwick North Terminal store features a full pharmacy offer from Well, including a qualified in-store pharmacist to give customers personalised support and advice ahead of their journey, as well as a comprehensive health and beauty offer with market-leading product ranges from global brands such as L'Oreal, Olay and Rimmel.
Our dedicated The Bookshop by WHSmith stores offer customers a premium shopping experience with a unique look and feel. We also operate a number of Costa Coffee stores in airports, building on our strong relationship as a franchise partner for the nation's favourite coffee brand, offering a great range of hot and cold beverages and food in a welcome space for customers to enjoy.
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We operate over 150 stores in over 100 Hospitals in the UK, and our hospital business continues to grow. Our stores are tailored to each location, providing a one-stop-shop solution for staff, patients and visitors in hospitals. We're proud to deliver the strongest retail offer available within the UK healthcare industry, employing world class-store design and a convenience offer that makes us the first-choice retailer for customers and landlords.
We have built strong relationships with NHS trusts and partners, working closely to develop our healthy eating ranges and championing the healthy eating agenda across our entire suite of brands and formats. This cements our commitment, not only to our customers, but to the future of the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
We have developed a portfolio of brands, as well as new and exciting formats to suit any hospital space and best meet the needs of our NHS partners and customers.
WHSmith are the leading M&S franchise partner in hospitals throughout the UK, having opened our first store in 2013. We now operate over 40 M&S stores and M&S implants within our WHSmith stores in hospitals across the UK, including Guys Hospital, London.
We also partner with Costa Coffee within the healthcare sector, catering for the needs of staff, patients and visitors in hospitals and offering great coffee and a welcome space to relax. In addition we also have several Post Offices in hospital locations.
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WHSmith has been operating in rail locations since 1848 when we opened our first bookstall in London’s Euston station. Today, WHSmith is a leading rail retailer combining multiple categories in one store and offering a range of formats to suit all sizes of station.
In the UK, we operate over 100 stores in rail locations, including iconic London railway stations such as Charing Cross, Kings Cross, St Pancras (Eurostar), Victoria, Waterloo, and other major cities such as Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Our authority and heritage in rail station retailing is second to none. We are able to open stores showcasing world-class design and wide range of travel essentials, including categories such as food and drink, health and beauty products, news and magazines, books and tech accessories, that make us the first choice for customers and landlords.
Within our UK rail estate, we delight our customers with a number of specialist store formats as well as our core established WHSmith brand stores, including our Tech Express stores and The Bookshop by WHSmith.
WHSmith are also a familiar brand in motorway service areas across the UK, with the vast majority of our c.150 stores operated under franchise with partners including Moto, Road Chef and Welcome Break.
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UK retail future outlook
Our UK retail segment continues to benefit from structural tailwinds, including passenger growth, and we see ongoing opportunities in Air and Hospitals and across our multi-format stores and brand partnerships. The year ahead will be a year of investment as we execute our largest-ever store development programme and accelerate the rollout of our one-stop-shop strategy. This is a transformational step that will strengthen our estate and position us for long-term growth.
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