WHSmith Rebranding: Check if Your Local Store is Affected

UK Retail Landscape Transformation

One of UK's best-known retail brands is to disappear from the High Street as hundreds of WHSmith branches are given a new name. The owner of nearly 500 WHSmith stores has agreed to sell the UK chain to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital in a £76 million deal which will eventually see the stores rebranded as TGJones.

Rebranding to TGJones

The sale does not include the retailer’s travel locations, such as shops in airports and train stations and also in hospitals. All the approximately 480 stores and 5,000 staff working for the high street businesses will move under Modella Capital’s ownership as part of the deal. The stores – not including the travel locations – are set to rebrand as TGJones, the company revealed. You can see which WHSmith branches near you will be rebranded by using our interactive map. The High street branches in orange are all expected to be renamed TGJones. Other hospital and rail station branches in blue will remain as WHSmith outlets.

Strategic Shift and Focus on Travel Business

Group chief executive Carl Cowling said: “As we continue to deliver on our strategic ambition to become the leading global travel retailer, this is a pivotal moment for WHSmith as we become a business exclusively focused on travel. 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.”

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