A huge question mark rests over the future of the WHSmith store in Crowborough High Street following news that the 233-year-old brand has been sold.
Modella, a retail company that also owns Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop, has bought WHSmith for £76million and will brand the business to “TG Jones”.
Industry experts, who have been expecting the sale for some time, last month predicted that at least half of the 480 WHSmith high street stores could be closed after a sale, raising the prospect of sweeping job cuts.
WHSmiths closed 18 stores in 2024, and had already earmarked a further ten for closure this year. The WHSmith brand will remain, however, as it is keeping its travel stores in railway stations, airports, and hospitals.
Nicholas Found at the industry analysts Retail Economics, said: “The move for WH Smith is a clear reflection of the structural pressures squeezing legacy high street retailers. With falling footfall, rising business rates and wage inflation, the economics of the high street have become increasingly unforgiving, with many grappling to find relevance in a digital-first era.”
Modella, which acquired Hobbycraft last year, previously backed the fashion brand Ted Baker’s ill-fated UK licensee, said the TGJones name for the chain had been chosen to give the same “family” feel as the venerable WH Smith brand.
In a letter to staff, Modella said: “As a very well-known surname in the UK, Jones feels like a worthy successor to Smith and carries the same sense of family, appropriate for a store visited by everyone and there for everyone.” It added it would keep the blue and white colours of the brand.
Modella has yet to make any further comment on whether the industry experts are right in warning that it will significantly trim back the business. It certainly hasn’t confirmed any plans to close stores.
Crowborough News will continue to monitor the story.