The WH Smith corporate website indicates that the company currently has twenty-four locations in Australia. This does not includes the Wild Crad and Gift franchise business purchased earlier this year.
Just a few years ago WH Smith had three stores. This is a business on the move in Australia. More here.
The newsagency on the ground level of the Virgin domestic terminal at Sydney Airport is now a WH Smith business, another new outlet from the successful UK retailer that is expanding in Australia. This location is different to others I have written about several times recently.
I saw WH Smith Express today. From the name to the in-store offering, this a more focussed business than had occupied this location for many years. It’s impressive.
This is what WH Smith brings to Australia, retail focus, absolute clarity on their offer and all their brand stands for.
WH Smith is a brand on the move in Australia. Newsagents need to have a plan – from the individual business perspective to brands we trade under.
Take a look at the WH Smith corporate website and you will soon see that they dominate in the UK the space we occupy here. There are not here to escape the harsh UK winter. No, they are here for profit. We need to develop our response.
This photo shows the impulse item pitch at a WH Smith store in Melbourne. It’s compelling, driving customers to purchase multiple items, a blending of what we see in convenience stores here already but in a more traditional newsagency model.
As WH Smith rolls out more into Australia it will challenge the traditional Aussie newsagency model since they can bring to market benefits of their strength in numbers.
WH Smith is expanding its newsagency footprint on several fronts in Australia including opening what look like more traditional newsagency businesses. This photo os from the WH Smith at Melbourne airport – before customs in the international terminal.
This WH Smith store is a traditional large-format WH Smith transit store. What you see is an excellent range of products in a well laid out shop, good signage and plenty of product deals.
In the newsagency space WH Smith has transit shops and high street shops. The two are different in focus but operate under a consistent brand.
Given the expansion of WH Smith branded stores, their launch of Zoodle and their reported takeover of Wild Cards and Gifts, WH Smith is a competitor on Australian soil, a competitor we have to take seriously.
Given the increasing presence of WH Smith in Australia – they are opening more stores and have reportedly taken over Wild cards and gifts (I say reportedly since WH Smith has not made an announcement) – I am planning a few posts about them.
Zoodle is a kids retail format from WH Smith at Melbourne Airport in International Departures. The Melbourne store was the first Zoodle. It opened late 2012. the first UK Zoodle opened in February 2013.
Zoodle is an interesting shop – 100% focused on kids and those who shop for kids. It’s bright and fun. It featured international brands like Lego, Hello Kitty, Peppa Pig and Where’s Wally. Brands are vitally important in the kids market.
What’s interesting about Zoodle is that WH Smith has two other shops within a few metres of Zoodle yet this kids shop is stand-alone. While I am no expert, to me, their approach speaks to the value of retail specialisation in a separate format rather than including that format in a bigger store.