Tuesday, November 5, 2024

WH Smith ‘well positioned’ for peak summer trading season

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WH Smith has expressed confidence ahead of the peak summer holiday season, saying robust sales at its travel locations helped to balance out slower activity on the high street.

For the 13 weeks to June 1, the retailer reported a like-for-like sales increase of 4%, driven by a 5% uplift in its global travel stores and a slight 1% decline in its high street division.




However, this represents a deceleration from the impressive 15% sales growth recorded in the first half of the year at its travel outlets in railway stations, airports, and hospitals around the world.

The Swindon-based company is now facing tougher comparisons with the previous year when its performance was bolstered by the resurgence of global travel post-pandemic.

Despite an overall downturn in sales for its UK high street operations, including online, WH Smith noted that its physical stores “performed well”, maintaining steady like-for-like revenue throughout the third quarter.

The retailer also highlighted the expansion of its partnership with Toys R Us, announcing the upcoming launch of additional ‘shop-in-shops’ within its premises over the summer months.

So far, five Toys R Us shop-in-shops have been opened in WH Smith stores, with plans to inaugurate another 25 by the end of August.

WH Smith said: “The group is well positioned as we enter our peak summer trading period.”

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