WH Smith continues to ride planes and trains to growth with captive audience strategy

WH Smith said it was “confident” of another year of significant growth, as it continues to benefit from a resilient demand for travel. 

In an update this morning, the popular newsagent posted an eight per cent rise in group revenues for the 20 week period to January. 

Brits travelling on trains and hitting airports helped hike revenues by 15 per cent when compared to the same period last year. 

The firm said it plans to open 15 more sites across airports and train stations, adding to its 580 sites in these locations. 

However, WH Smith’s high street locations showed signs of struggling with revenues down three per cent. 

Carl Cowling, group chief executive said: “I am pleased with the start to the financial year. Our Travel business is growing strongly across all our divisions and we have seen a notably strong performance in the UK, our largest division, with total revenue up 15 per cent  and like-for-like revenue up 14 per cent 

“During the period, we successfully opened our largest UK Travel store at Birmingham airport – a one-stop-shop for travel essentials – and we have received very positive feedback from both landlord and customers.”

He added: “We continue to make excellent progress in North America, and I am particularly excited by the substantial growth opportunities that exist in this market. We are on track to open over 50 new stores in North America this financial year.”