One other WHSmith retailer has shut for good as a part of a string of closures throughout the nation.
Bolton’s Crompton Place retailer served its final prospects on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the retailer stated: ‘We’re disillusioned to be dropping our presence in Bolton and we wish to thank all our prospects for his or her help and for procuring with us.’
Branches have already been closed in Scotland, Kent, and Manchester, with extra set to observe, marking one other blow to the UK excessive road.
Earlier than Bolton, the latest closure was at The Malls in Basingstoke on February 1.
WHSmith beforehand introduced plans to open 110 new branches in airports, railway stations and hospitals, the place earnings have been greater than of their excessive road shops.
In one other transfer to revamp their shops, they stated they may start promoting vinyl data once more in response to a rising development amongst buyers, after thirty years off their cabinets.
The stationary retailer additionally introduced final 12 months that 76 of its shops will inventory Toys R Us merchandise – an iconic toy store that disappeared virtually a decade in the past.
A Bolton department workers member, Aaron Highet, informed Bolton Information: ‘It has been such a superb expertise and I’ve loved my time right here.
‘The purchasers are available in with a smile and need to chat. The workers have been beautiful and are sensible to get on with.’
A consumer known as Wendy in the meantime stated she was very unhappy in regards to the closure after visiting the shop ‘for many years’, for magazines, books and pens.
Which WHSmith shops have closed up to now 18 months
These retailers already bid farewell in 2025 and to date in 2025 throughout the UK:
- 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
- Outdated Christchurch Highway, Bournemouth – January, 2025
- Basingstoke – February, 2025
Full listing of WHSmith shops closing in 2025
Here’s a full listing of shops closing on this 12 months:
- Basingstoke – February 2025
- Accrington – March 2025
- Diss – April 2025
- Newport, April 2025
- Oldham, Could 2025
One of many newest closures to be introduced is Oldham. WHSmith spokesperson informed the Oldham Instances it was ‘not sustainable’ to proceed buying and selling from its present web site in a procuring centre.
Which shops are opening?
There are some new shops opening as WHSmith strikes away from the excessive road to as a substitute focus round journey hubs, resembling practice stations and airports.
In line with its firm accounts, journey gross sales grew by 15% over the identical timeframe in comparison with a 3% fall in income for its excessive road portfolio.
Income throughout the enterprise in the meantime had risen by 8% over the 20 weeks to January 20, compared to the identical interval the earlier 12 months.
This implies for WHSmith, it’s extra worthwhile for them to open shops in journey hubs, as they will make more cash than on the excessive streets.
It beforehand pledge to open 15 shops in 2024, with a further 15 after that ‘annually over the medium time period.’
Talking to the BBC, WHSmith’s CEO Carl Cowling stated the newsagent had spent greater than £100 million opening new shops in airports, and aimed to seize over 20% of the airport retail market over the subsequent 4 years within the US and Europe.
Kate Hardcastle, chief govt of retail insights company, Perception with Ardour, added that airports and repair stations have been a ‘golden alternative’ for WH Smith, after that they had been ‘dwindling’ on Excessive Streets.
‘As extra of us now journey with know-how we’re all of the extra prone to neglect necessities, all far more of a promoting alternative than the odd bottle of water.’
‘A retailer like WH Smith goes to see the worth in investing and constructing a brand new captive airport viewers than a challenged Excessive Road,’ she added.
Which shops will inventory vinyls?
Music followers will quickly be capable to decide up data in additional than 80 WHSmith websites throughout the nation.
The newsagent initially stopped promoting vinyls over thirty years in the past, when demand for the product slowed.
However since 2006, gross sales have began to extend as some folks pivoted to a extra ‘classic’ approach of listening to music, whereas others switched from CDs to iTunes and streaming.
Gross sales for the traditional music product grew for the sixteenth 12 months in a row final 12 months, with over six million bought.
Emma Smyth, business director of the newsagent stated: ‘After thirty years vinyl is again at WHSmith,
‘I’m certain there are a lot of prospects on the market who bear in mind spending hours in document retailers shopping the most recent vinyl LPs and the inventive document covers.
‘It’s no shock that vinyl is rising in recognition once more, and we’re very excited to be bringing again document picks to greater than 80 completely different shops throughout the UK for each seasoned followers and new listeners alike,’ she added.
The place can you purchase a vinyl in WH Smith?
The complete listing of WHSmith places the place you should buy a vinyl is as follows:
- Berkhampstead
- Bromley
- Canterbury
- Chester
- Crawley
- East Kilbride
- Epsom
- Exeter
- Gloucester
- Gyle
- Henley
- Excessive Wycombe
- Kingstonis:
- Lichfield
- Marlborough
- Monks Cross
- Preston Deepdale
- Romford
- Salisbury
- Watford
- White Metropolis
- York
- Jersey
- Perth
- Stafford
- Weston-super-Mare
- Northallerton
- Douglas
- Scarborough
- Buxton
- Argyle Road
- Beeston
- Brecon
- Brent Cross
- Broughton Parc
- Bury St Edmunds
- Carlisle
- Cirencester
- Cribbs Causeway
- Darlington
- Bluewater Park
- Deal
- Dumfries
- Elgin
- Ely
- Exmouth
- Grantham
- Nice 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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