Full list of WHSmith store closures after more announced for this year

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.

One branch will close in only two weeks.

WHSmith, which runs 1,100 stores, previously announced plans to open 110 new branches in airports, railway stations and hospitals, where profits were higher.

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.

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WHSmith 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 WHSmith 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 WHSmith 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.’

WHSmith 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 WHSmith, 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 WHSmith 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 WHSmith,

‘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 WHSmith?

The full list of WHSmith locations where you can purchase a vinyl is as follows: