‘In a split between its travel and high street businesses, where will WHSmith’s name land?’

When news broke last week that WHSmith was entertaining offers for its high street business, a number of questions flew to mind – not least who would end up buying it? But among all the pontificating about the final destination of the retailer’s high street brand, I couldn’t help but wonder what will happen to the WHSmith name?

What’s in a name, anyway? For William Shakespeare, the name was less important than the thing itself. A rose by any other name, he said, would still smell as sweet.

While the great playwright was discussing the timeless topic of doomed, young love, and not retail M&A, his famous words do bear a great deal of relevance to the unfolding story at WHSmith.

Carl Cowling and senior management clearly see the future of the business away from the high street and up in the skies. Or, at the very least, in airport departure lounges around the world.

WHSmith operates over 640 stores in 30 countries around the world – with over 300 of those in the US alone. By comparison, WHSmith has been shrinking its 600-plus UK high street store estate over the last few years.

And, besides the tie-up with Toys ‘R’ Us, has been steadily turning off the funding taps all while pouring tens of millions of pounds into its big bets in airports abroad.

The financial reasons for this are clear enough. For the 21 weeks to January 25, total travel sales at WHSmith jumped 7% while high street sales were down 6% by comparison.

There’s also the potential for growth to think about. WHSmith is, if anything, over-indexed on the UK high street whereas, particularly in the US, the sky is literally the limit. WHSmith closed 2024 by winning the tender for eight new stores at Orlando airport, and four in Portland – leaving the pipeline for new store openings in the country at 60.

WHSmith management can take credit for this success, but how much of that has been down to the actual name itself? If you took a straw poll of airport customers in America, the Middle East, Asia or Australia, how many of them would actually recognise the WHSmith brand?

A vanishingly small number, I’d imagine. How many of those customers would have some kind of relationship with, or even love for, the WHSmith brand? Even smaller than that. Perhaps even none.

The beauty of the WHSmith travel business lies in its simplicity and captive audience. Sure the WHSmith travel stores I’ve been to are all nicely fitted out, but no one’s going there for the store experience. You go there because there’s not really any other place else to go, once you’re through security. 

Options are slim if your shopping mission is a bottle of water, a neck pillow, some mini deodorant and a copy of The Economist. Slightly less so if it’s a pint and a full English before 9am. 

In other words, these travel stores would, and indeed do, work just as well whether they carry the InMotion, MRG, or even Curi.o.city fascia as they do as WHSmith stores. 

Could the same be said of the retailer’s high street stores? Patently not. The blue and white WHSmith sign is a ubiquitous sight on high streets across the length and breadth of the UK. For all the changing consumer habits and the business’ faults, few could argue that it’s not one of the most iconic and best-known UK brands still left on the high street.

So what? you may ask, dear reader. If WHSmith’s high street business was so iconic and well known, you might wonder, then, why is it struggling so badly? Why can’t the current management team wait to get shot of it, to focus on bigger opportunities abroad?

All valid questions. But for a prospective owner with designs on still running the high street stores, might the WHSmith brand name be more valuable to them than the stores themselves? 

Whether anyone can make that high street business work, if WHSmith with its 200-plus years of experience can’t, is a different question. But having such a recognisable and trusted brand name might make that job that little bit easier.