WHSmith unveils Scottish growth plans after opening flagship Edinburgh Airport store
“We are quite scientific about how people use airports and shop there. A lot of thinking goes into people’s travel needs” – Andrew Harrison
WHSmith has outlined a multi-million-pound investment across its Scottish travel business after opening a flagship store at the country’s busiest airport.
The venerable retailer, which recently struck a deal to sell its UK high street business, has more than 50 outlets north of the Border in airports, railways stations and hospitals.
The opening of its latest airside branch at Edinburgh Airport marks one of the group’s biggest investments in recent years and provides a flavour of what travellers can expect from the new-format store layout. It will act as a blueprint for other shops within the burgeoning travel operation.
Visiting the new airport outlet, Andrew Harrison, WHSmith’s managing director of UK travel, said the opening allowed the group to “put down a flagship format in Scotland”. Alongside the books and snacks most readily associated with the retailer, shoppers will be able to stock up on healthcare items, travel accessories and souvenirs, among other things.
The store unveiling comes as the airport embarks on its most ambitious expansion plans yet.
“The growth that Edinburgh Airport is seeing is incredible and there’s still a lot of further growth potential,” Harrison said. “The quality of the routes they are developing are really strong too.
“What’s great about our investment in Edinburgh is it allows us to put down a flagship format in Scotland. We have been working hard on our travel proposition which is all around whatever your travel needs are and how we can create that one-stop shop - whether that’s getting some food to go, a book to pass the time with or some sunscreen or a forgotten cable. We want to make it easy for busy travellers to find these items in our stores and make the best use of the limited time they’ve got at the airport.
“We have rolled this format out in Birmingham where it has become the number one store in the chain,” he added. “We have really high hopes for Edinburgh. The design is very much tailored to Edinburgh.”
WHSmith, whose roots stretch back to 1792, has been a fixture in Scotland since 1851, piggybacking on the growth of the railways. The name became more familiar north of the Border following the 1998 acquisition of John Menzies’ retail operations.
In March of this year, the historic newsagent, bookseller and stationer agreed to sell its UK high street business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital in a deal valuing it at £76 million. Those stores will eventually rebrand as TGJones. The sale does not include the travel and hospital locations, nor the WHSmith brand.
Some 480 stores and 5,000 staff working for the high street businesses will move under Modella Capital’s ownership as part of the agreement. The WHSmith travel division, which has become the key focus of the group in recent years and also includes stores within hospitals, will not be changing. That makes up the bulk of its sales and profits, and has grown to more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries.
Post deal, WHSmith will encompass 56 stores in Scotland, including outlets at five airports - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Prestwick - as well as six railway stations, namely Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling. There are several stores located in hospitals, a couple of InMotion tech accessory specialists, and bus station branches.
“We have a pretty good footprint in Scotland,” noted Harrison. “We have seven stores in Edinburgh and will be working through them root and branch. We are raising our game and our proposition across all of the different stores. We are investing in the millions of pounds in Scotland.
“We are quite scientific about how people use airports and shop there. A lot of thinking goes into people’s travel needs.
“Last year, in the travel business, we sold more books than we’ve ever sold. Often the only time people find themselves buying a book is when they are going off on holiday, so it’s an integral part of our offering.”
He added: “Over the years our travel and high street businesses have become very different propositions. Given the divergence of those two businesses it was felt the high street business would be better under different ownership.”
Modella Capital specialises in investing in retailers. It has previously put money into chains including Paperchase and Tie Rack. Last August, it snapped up arts and crafts retailer Hobbycraft for an undisclosed sum.
Profitable
WHSmith’s group chief executive Carl Cowling said in March: “High street is a good business; it is profitable and cash generative with an experienced and high-performing management team.
“However, given our rapid international growth, now is the right time for a new owner to take the high street business forward and for the WHSmith leadership team to focus exclusively on our travel business. I wish the high street team every success.”
Last week, Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar told The Scotsman that a five-year programme of “very substantial investment” was getting underway to keep pace with the “huge amounts” of extra capacity being added by larger aircraft, more frequent flights and new routes. Scotland’s busiest airport handled a record 15.8 million passengers last year and Dewar said the figure now topped one million in most months.
Harrison said the expansion and ongoing success of the airport “demonstrates Scotland’s attraction as a place for leisure and business and we are pleased to be a part of it”.
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