WH Smith, long the UK’s go-to for pens, Sudoku books and gifts, is closing down 10 branches in 2025 in another blow to the UK high street.
Eight branches have already been closed in Scotland, Kent, and Manchester this year as the historic retailer places 500 stores up for sale.
And now shoppers will be waving goodbye to even more in London, Manchester and the West Midlands.
The news comes as WH Smith is set to disappear from the high street street after being sold for £76 million.
The stationery brand, which was founded in 1792, has announced it is selling its shops to the owner of Hobbycraft, Modella Capital, and will eventually rebrand as TGJones.
The sale does not include the retailer’s locations in airports and train stations. The brand has also not been sold to Modella Capital.
WH Smith, which runs 1,100 stores, announced plans to open 110 new branches in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
In another move to revamp, the retailer will sell now trendy vinyl records after 30 years off the shelves. 76 of its stores will soon stock Toys R Us products – an iconic toy shop that disappeared almost a decade ago.
Which WH Smith stores have closed since 2024?
- Alfreton, Derbyshire – January 2024
- Ramsgate, Kent – January 2024
- Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland – February 2024
- Nantwich, South Cheshire – February 2024
- Margate, Kent – April 2024
- Bridgwater – September 2024
- Sale, Manchester – September 2024
- Bournemouth – October 2024
- Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth – January 2025
- Luton, Bedfordshire – January 18
- March, Cambridgeshire – January 25
- Basingstoke, Hampshire – February 1
- Long Eaton – February 1
- Newtown, Powys – February 15
- Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset – February 15
- Rhyl, Denbighshire – February 15
- Bolton, Greater Manchester – February 15
- Accrington, Lancashire – March 15
Full list of WH Smith stores closing in 2025
- Halstead, Essex – April
- Halesowen, West Midlands – April
- Diss, Norfolk – April
- Newport, Wales – April
- Haverhill, Suffolk – April 26
- Woolwich, London – April
- Stockton, County Durham – May
- Oldham, Greater Manchester – May
- Bedford – July
- Orpington, Greater London – no date given yet
WH Smith is not alone in shuttering stores. Last year, more than 13,000 high street shops closed for good, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
‘Halesowen is becoming a ghost town,’ said on Facebook user on the Dudley town’s WH Smith closing.
On the Diss closure, a local shopper added: ‘This is unfair for this town.’
An Oldham resident said: ‘Couldn’t make it up.’
Which stores are opening?
Some new stores are opening, however, as WH Smith moves away from the high street to travel hubs.
According to its accounts, travel sales grew by 15% over the same time frame compared to a 3% fall in revenue for its high street portfolio.
Revenue across the business rose 8% over the 20 weeks to January 20 compared to the same period the previous year.
It previously pledged to open 15 stores in 2024, with an additional 15 after that ‘each year over the medium term.’
WH Smith CEO Carl Cowling told the BBC in 2023 that the newsagent spent £100 million opening new stores in airports and aimed to capture over 20% of the airport retail market over the next four years in the US and Europe.
Kate Hardcastle, chief executive of retail insights agency, Insight with Passion, added that airports and service stations were a ‘golden opportunity’ for WH Smith, after they had been ‘dwindling’ on High Streets.
‘As more of us now travel with technology we are all the more likely to forget essentials, all much more of a selling opportunity than the odd bottle of water.’
‘A retailer like WH Smith is going to see the value in investing and building a new captive airport audience than a challenged High Street,’ she added.
Which stores will stock vinyl?
Music fans will soon be able to pick up records in more than 80 WH Smith sites across the nation.
The newsagent initially stopped selling vinyls over thirty years ago, when demand for the product slowed.
But sales have increased since 2006 as some people pivoted to a more ‘vintage’ way of listening to music, while others switched from CDs to iTunes and streaming.
Sales for the classic music product grew for the 16th year in a row last year, with over six million sold.
Emma Smyth, commercial director of the newsagent said: ‘After thirty years vinyl is back at WH Smith.
‘I’m sure there are many customers out there who remember spending hours in record shops browsing the latest vinyl LPs and the artistic record covers.
‘It’s no surprise that vinyl is growing in popularity again, and we are very excited to be bringing back record selections to more than 80 different stores across the UK for both seasoned fans and new listeners alike,’ she added.
Where can you buy vinyl in WH Smith?
The full list of WH Smith locations where you can purchase a vinyl is as follows:
- Berkhampstead
- Bromley
- Canterbury
- Chester
- Crawley
- East Kilbride
- Epsom
- Exeter
- Gloucester
- Gyle
- Henley
- High Wycombe
- Kingstonis
- Lichfield
- Marlborough
- Monks Cross
- Preston Deepdale
- Romford
- Salisbury
- Watford
- White City
- York
- Jersey
- Perth
- Stafford
- Weston-super-Mare
- Northallerton
- Douglas
- Scarborough
- Buxton
- Argyle Street
- Beeston
- Brecon
- Brent Cross
- Broughton Parc
- Bury St Edmunds
- Carlisle
- Cirencester
- Cribbs Causeway
- Darlington
- Bluewater Park
- Deal
- Dumfries
- Elgin
- Ely
- Exmouth
- Grantham
- Great Yarmouth
- Hamilton
- Harpenden
- Haslemere
- Hastings
- Havant
- Haywards Heath
- Hempstead Valley
- Hereford
- Honiton
- Leighton Buzzard
- Lewisham
- Liverpool
- Llanelli
- Marlow
- Monmouth
- Morpeth
- Newport (Isle of Wight)
- Petersfield
- Sevenoaks
- Meadowhall
- Southport
- Southsea
- Swanage
- Taunton
- Teesside Retail Park
- Temple Fortune
- Twickenham
- Uckfield
- Wallington
- Warrington
- Wimbledon
- Witney
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