SEVEN WHSmith stores in Oxfordshire set to rebrand after takeover
The retailer today announced that it would be selling its UK high street stores to Modella Capital, owner of Hobbycraft, in a deal valued at £76million.
The takeover will affect its 480 stores in towns and cities across the country, the first of which opened 230 years ago, which will eventually rebrand as TGJones.
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All seven WHSmith stores in Oxfordshire, which include outfits in Cornmarket Street, Oxford, Bury Street in Abingdon, Chipping Norton High Street and The Broadway in Didcot will be affected.
WHSmith on Cornmarket Street in Oxford will become TGJones (Image: Photo: Oxford Mail) Shopping centre stores in Witney, Wantage and Banbury will also be part of the rebrand deal.
WHSmith will retain its more lucrative travel retail stores at airports, railways and in hospitals, which number some 1,500 in the UK.
This means that the stores in the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospital in Oxford will be remain the same.
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The high street business now accounts for only about 15 per cent of the annual group trading profits.
Retail experts last month predicted that at least half of the 480 high street stores could close after the sale, potentially representing sweeping job cuts, the Guardian reported.
The business was put up for sale in January, with Modella and the owner of Bensons for Beds, Alteri Investors, as the final two bidders.
The books and stationary retailed also has 200 post offices operating within its shops, creating fears of further job cuts from the Communication Workers Union.
Modella said it intended to “keep all the same products and services, including the Post Office and Toys R Us,” adding that the company brand colours would remain the iconic white and blue.
Carl Cowling, the group chief executive at WH Smith, said: “This is a pivotal moment for WHSmith as we become a business exclusively focused on travel.”
He said the “highly successful” travel business, which operates in 32 countries and accounts for for 85 per cent of trading profit, provides more “growth opportunities” around the world.
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He added: “As our travel business has grown, our UK high street business has become a much smaller part of the WH Smith Group. 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.”
Mr Cowling said he wishes the high street team “every success” and said he looks “forward as a simplified, travel-focused group” and is “excited” about its future.
