WHSmith is opening eight new stores across one US airport, as it continues to grow its travel estate internationally.
Eight stores will open at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in addition to the two stores currently in operation in Terminal 5.
The new series of stores will open at JFK’s New Terminal 1 when it opens in 2026 to include the first WHSmith branded store in that airport.
The other stores will act as “bespoke store concepts”, to offer more travel essentials to passengers.
The WHSmith North America team has been ramping up its store estate across US East Coast airports of late, with a number of new units and openings.
It currently operates over 50 stores on the East Coast in airports such as New York’s Newark and La Guardia, and Washington’s Ronald Regan and Dulles International airports. As for the rest of North America, it has over 300 stores.
As part of the new series of stores, the retailer will open two own-brand formats – WHSmith Travel Essentials and Skybound by WHSmith, as well as locally focused store experiences such as The Queens Borough Market and The Canopy.
WHSmith chief executive Carl Cowling said: “Our win in the iconic JFK airport demonstrates growing demand for our world-class travel essentials offer and why North America is our most exciting opportunity for growth.
“This is significant for WHSmith North America and our partners, and we are delighted that our leading travel essentials proposition has been selected for the highly anticipated New Terminal One at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
“The team is always working hard to enhance and improve our offer and strengthen our partnerships with local suppliers, and this award is testament to their efforts. We look forward to bringing a distinctly New York experience to our stores as passengers travel through the new terminal.”
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