WH Smith revealed today that its group sales in the 18 weeks to 3 July were still only 62% of the total recorded at the same time in 2019 as both its Travel and High Street divisions continued to be impacted by the current trading environment. However, the group said it was encouraged by improving trends in recent times and announced plans to expand its technology chain.
During the period, revenue at the retailer’s high street stores came in at 86% versus 2019. WH Smith said the performance reflected weaker footfall compared to pre-pandemic levels, although its e-commerce operations, including funkypigeon.com, continued to deliver “good performance”.
Amid continued pandemic-related restrictions, revenues in the WH Smith stores located in travel hubs reached only 48% of 2019 levels as passenger numbers in airports and railway stations remained low. However, it was an improvement on the 34% figure recorded in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, WH Smith announced that it had secured space for 18 technology and accessories stores across a number of UK airports, including London Heathrow, London Stansted, Manchester, London Luton, Birmingham and East Midlands. The stores will trade under the InMotion brand, its technology and accessories business in North America. Once the travel sector has fully recovered, WH Smith expects the stores to achieve sales of around £60m per year.
Looking ahead, the group said: “Following the stronger than anticipated performance from our North America business, we anticipate a small improvement to management’s expectations for the current financial year.”
