WHSmith is to double its advertising budget before Christmas, with a significant proportion dedicated to the book offer.
'Last year we failed to be relevant to our customers,' said new business unit director for books Gary Kibble. The focus will be on product and price rather than the WHS brand, although he would not disclose the advertising spend.
The retailer may consider increasing its higher-margin non-fiction and lifestyle range at the expense of fiction, the prices of which are being squeezed by supermarkets. Options include stocking just chart fiction titles, Kibble said.
WHSmith will also focus more on children's and education books, having launched its Collector's Club this Easter. Persuading existing customers to spend more through such clubs should enable WHSmith to offer more competitive prices on fiction titles, he said.
In the long term, Kibble said WHSmith should be able to compete with supermarkets on its overall books range rather than price.
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