WH Smith Forges Ahead: Plans 120 New Stores in Next Three Years

by Amanda-Jane Doran, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 12/18/2001

WH Smith plans to spend 120 million pounds ($170 million) opening 120 stores over the next three years. WH Smith already operates 539 main-street stores, 189 travel stores at airports and stations, 26 new Christmas seasonal shops and employs 20,152 in the U.K. The expansion will create 3,000 jobs. Retail managing director Beverley Hodson has identified up to 200 locations in the U.K. that she considers ripe for development. They range from small main-street premises to substantial outlets in retail malls. All parts of Britain have been targeted; the first shop in Northern Ireland opened last month along with an experimental outlet in the Fort Kinnaird mall outside Edinburgh in Scotland. The Scottish shop incorporates a Costa coffee concession and has facilities for viewing DVDs and listening to CDs prior to purchase. Since buying the Blue Star Retail Group and its 184 book stores in Australia and New Zealand in June, Smith has been committed to stretching its brand into new markets, both in the U.K. and internationally. Business at airport and hotel gift stores in the U.S. has suffered significantly during the last quarter, making investment in the U.K. domestic market more attractive to the company. Smith regards its core business in the U.K. as virtually recession proof; property agents are scouting for 40 new locations and 1000 staff for the current financial year.