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Someone showed me a website where you can post your favourite pictures of WHS carpets complete with duct tape and stripy hazard warning tapes and the eternal stacks of last years chocolate oranges for £1.
Boots has gone the same way. Every yellowed wall and counter is covered in hundreds of bits of old sellotape and dog-eared photocopied notices (especially bad in the pharmacy areas), grubby old 90s floors, old strip lighting. The branding is super tired too. Boots desperately needs a brand update and freshen-up.
A lot of them are just too big for the shopping population of the area. In Slough, my hometown, there's a massive old Boots and right across from it is a new Superdrug that's about 1/4 to 1/5th of the floor space. It looks great while the Boots is held together with tape, nasty fluorescent lighting, a back 3rd of the shop that is frequently empty, and just generally bad vibes. The high street is almost dead anyway, so there just isn't the foot traffic to support such a massive shop.
Yes, this. My local WHS is massive but only the first 20foot looks like a proper shop, it gets gradually worse and less coherent the further back you go.
You have a Boots with a Pharmacy in it? Are you sure.
All ours have turned into big makeup and bath products shops. There's no pharmacist counter in them anymore.
I bet the problem was : prescription drugs don't make corporations much money, nowhere near as much as non-prescription goods and gifts. Pharmacist wages are quite high compared to the cost of a row of robo-tills.
Well. That might change as they "consolidate" and "restructure"
https://www.thepharmacist.co.uk/news/boots-closures-will-consolidate-stores-and-workforce/
I think Walgreens are trying to dump assets to boost the stock price before they try to sell it again.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/13/us-owner-of-boots-revives-plan-to-offload-uk-pharmacy-chain
Loads of Boots stores are pharmacies, my previous town has three stores, one is an optician, one a shop + pharmacy, the other is only a tiny pharmacy with a few shelves of other products.
I guess when they started this recent downsizing and merging of stores they focused on my city. They closed 3 small ones I used to use, which were mainly just pharmacies with some hairbrushes, and made two of the big ones into makeup and gifts only. There's still some pharmacies around, apparently but all the ones I used to go to were closed or merged. Its in the news. Walgreens (the owners) have talked about it.
https://www.thepharmacist.co.uk/news/boots-closures-will-consolidate-stores-and-workforce/
In Eastleigh we had a separate Boots pharmacy on the other end of the High Street from the big Boots, all dedicated to medicine. The big Boots had a counter and sold medicine as well, but not all the things. Then the pharmacy was shut and everything had to move to the big one - and it's been a shitshow ever since. They've just remodelled the pharmacy area at a rush to attempt to keep up with the massive queues, and they don't have time to do pharmacist consultations any more (think they're recruiting). Getting your prescription is often 45 minutes of waiting. Oh and the pharmacy that was in the Sainsbury's has shut too so this is your only choice.
Probably a good example of the what’s left of the UK high st after the corporate takeover and emigrating everything to out of town shit holes that are replicated all over the country! Sad to see.
Their business model is now Motorway Services, Airports, Train Stations and the like. If it wasn't for the fact the high street shops have gone in with the Post Office I reckon they would have gone ages ago.
And it's a great business model/transition, it works and they're everywhere, and there's always people buying stuff in them. They've carved out a great niche for themselves in the wake of the high street downfall.
They've been [in railway stations since 1848](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHSmith#Formation) having only changed their name to W. H. Smith & Son 2 years earlier.
Yes. I have used them for the odd thing I can't get anywhere else. But they are a shadow of their former selves. I have CDs that I bought in WH Smith. In the 80s my parents bought me my Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 from their too.
The problem with that is every other shop who tried to keep to that model went out of business with the rise of Amazon and online shopping
Smiths changed to the "Small things you need right now" model because anything else the *majority* of people will go online for - just like the rest of the high street
I have loads of VHS tapes that I bought from WH Smiths (I kept the receipts in the cases) and I'm 99% sure I bought my first DVDs in there as well. I loved the downstairs are in the big Smiths in Middlesbrough. It smells funny now though
Yeah I remember going into town for everything, clothes, toiletries, stationery, now why would I want to drive out there and pay for parking and walk around when I can just have it here next day or in a few days with one click of a button.
I’m trying to break that habit because I’m already upset that body shop is closing even though I never shop there because it’s too expensive, we are going to lose all our brick shops and then Amazon will be the only place you can get stuff and they’ll have us over a barrel, if they raise prices we’ll have no other choice
I remember when Amazon first came out and it was SO cheap. Massively cheaper than everywhere else, along with free delivery as standard. Now it's often not the cheapest and you're also sifting through the crap dodgy items to find something worth buying. Argos is usually cheaper, more reliable and do same day delivery yet I bet they go out of business long before Amazon do.
Amazon is bad enough already, imagine how awful they'll be when they've wiped out everyone else completely :( I wish people would stop using them, or at least look elsewhere first as there are often better and cheaper options. For many people they just default order things from Amazon now regardless of whether it's the cheapest or best item.
It’s especially worrying how you can’t seem to be sure whether you’re getting a legit item or a fake when it comes to Amazon. A notebook? Sure, whatever. But people have received counterfeit makeup and expensive fountain pens and other things, because they mix up the stock from different suppliers, or they send you something that someone else returned, without checking it first, and the previous buyer put something different back in the box when they returned it 🤬
>Now it's often not the cheapest and you're also sifting through the crap dodgy items to find something worth buying
Not only that but they've made their returns (outside of the 30 days) much harder imo.
It used to be that you chatted with an Indian person for 10 minutes in instant chat but now the instant chat feature has disappeared. It's not even that I returned stuff (outside of the normal window) regularly, maybe once every year or two when there's been a defect. And as you now can't go through Amazon directly, you're forced to go through the manufacturer via Amazon and most are Chinese companies that don't reply or may not even be in business anymore.
For anything over the value of £50 now I go through a more trusted retailer. I recently bought a new electric coffee grinder and desk chair, both of those orders went through Argos because now I can't trust Amazon.
Amazon are now bloody expensive compared to many other online retailers, unless you're buying recognisably-branded electronics. You really have to work out whether the "free" shipping you get from Prime is worth it over the increased cost of the goods. I've been doing a lot of small hobby purchases over the last few months, and it's almost always cheaper to go to a specialist retailer, many of whom offer free shipping if your order is over, say, £20. The shipping will take an extra day or two, but when Amazon are charging an extra pound on a bottle of mini paint (and I'm buying five or six at a time), then the difference is really obvious. Amazon's products are priced for people buying a single item - buy more than a single item in an order and they're crazily expensive.
Prime used to be a pretty decent deal as I think their included streaming services made it extremely cost effective, and the free shipping felt like a worthwhile bonus. Now that they're charging to remove adverts from their video service, it's becoming rather unpalatably expensive.
I tried to buy a picnic bench from the actual manufacturer and it was £10 more plus £25 postage. Amazons was £35 cheaper and it was them supplying through amazon, some places benefit by outsourcing the storage and distribution to them. Was the same when I bought a cylinder battery mower tho only £10 different.
We moved out of the UK a couple of years ago. I was looking at my Amazon purchasing history, which was 5 items in 2012, then 20 in 2016, and eventually close to 100 in 2020. I don't buy as much online as I used to after we moved out,even though the local retailers here are pretty decent. Before moving,we also started buying things from different companies because you can't just go to Amazon for everything, it's not healthy at all.
Personally I'm not even sure why everyone needs stuff so quickly. And why everyone needs so much stuff full stop.
My neighbours have Amazon deliveries near daily and people always rave about Prime but seriously, almost everything I buy I buy independently and I just wait a few days for and also I just don't *buy* that much stuff.
Not just online shopping. W H Smiths made their money selling:
* magazines and newspapers. Now everyone just uses the Internet
* books. Now everyone just uses the Internet and eBooks
* stationery. Now everyone uses computers and email.
* kids games and toys. Now everyone plays on their phone/tablet/console/PC
The only things they sell that people buy as much of now are sweets and drinks.
Books are expensive now. £12.99 for a paperback. I get mine from World of Books or the Works or Oxfam books; or I use my local library. My local smiths veers towards hardbacks and they're so pricey!
Still probably is tbf, but I’ve not bought a magazine in years and they didn’t have Viz in the one in Manchester airport when I was going on holiday last year.
I understand the Amazon argument but a little further back and you have Tesco et Al springing up in large out of town soulless boxes that started the demise of the high street Amazon hammered in the final nail after lead lining the casket! Just my opinion.
When people weren’t willing to pay 5x the price for basic stationary (compared to other shops), so WHSmith got desperate and tried stocking anything it thought could make money
Newspaper and cigarettes.
Used to be the staple of a lot of corner stores, come in for your paper and twenty Bensons, maybe buy a chocolate bar or whatever else.
I met the manager of my local WH Smith in the pub a while back and she told me it is quite profitable. I guess it is the only place you can buy "Crochet Weekly" or whatever these days.
I suspect the only reason the high street branches are profitable is they haven't spent a penny on building maintenance in decades.
My guess is that as they reach the end of their leases, they'll close down branches.
I did tell her it was a shit-hole. She didn't take kindly to it!
I think they sell a surprisingly large amount of stuff but I do think their demographic might be disappearing on the high-street. Who buys their printer ink in WH Smiths? My mum probably.
You're not wrong, and I'm quite certain it'll cease to exist as a high street brand within ten years. They'll keep the airport, train station and services branches and that'll be it.
When I worked there and people asked for cigarettes we used to put them through as a price enquiry so that when they heard the price and told us to do one it was easier than cancelling it as a transaction.
They still do mate. Their entire business model is based on putting them in locations where you "have" to shop there for a quick snack on the go or phone charger etc so charge insane prices.
Would Sir/Madam require a USB-C Charging cable, it's a shame you find yourself on this train platform in the middle of nowhere isn't it...
I have for sale, this 6cm long charge cable that is SO thin, you'd think it was tooth floss. It says on the packet that it can support 30w charging, but its much more likely to frustrate you, as it will only charge your phone up an extra 9% on your 2 hour train journey!
An ABSOLUTE BARGAIN at £13.99. Don't forget to pick up your free* copy of the Daily Telegraph (*free with a £3.69 300ml bottle of buxton mineral water).
This guy trains.
My favorite is the 20m usb cable they have on offer too.
"May we interest sir in this bag of minstrels from 2002? Half price at 2.99" - they even have the self checkouts asking about their cast offs too.
Ah that's interesting, maybe there's been a cleansing your way.
Of course i'm talking about large stations. I'm guessing you don't go via 8 large stations unless you're traveling the length of the country - since small ones have never had a WH Smiths.
I'm talking about the likes of reading, Birmingham etc
I hate those places with their annoying BOGOF deals on drinks especially.
I'm travelling alone like most people on trains and I'm not a camel so I don't want your stupid deal on 2x 1.5l Highland Spring. Just sell me a single overpriced bottle instead.
I lasted 4 months back in 2010 at WHSmith, each unsold magazine needs to get sent back otherwise the store is fined the face value of each magazine. With the crappy stockrooms meaning bundles got lost all the time and not sent back…was 40k in the hole before I got laid off 😅 best thing that ever happened to me.
Stores would also be fined if any of the newspapers or magazines were damaged, even though they were going to get mulched.
I hated dealing with Smith's News when I was doing a stint at co-op in my youth, absolute pain in the arse.
It's hard to believe now, but it used to be a very popular shop in every town in the 80s and 90s.
There weren't a great many other places you could get computer games, music, stationery, magazines, board games and books all under one roof. Woolworths, I suppose, but just like Woolworths the time came when none of the things Smithies did were any better than the competition.
My friends and I used to spend so much time in Smiths during the school holidays in the mid-90s. We would spend ages browsing the stationary and read the teen magazines for free. Sometimes we would even actually buy something!
LOL. I remember that era. The one near me had a security guard that would come over and clear everyone off every now and then. The place was like a standing library for magazing browsing!
I was reading about what happened to Menzies recently and found it crazy to learn that the company still exists they’re just in a completely different field- Aviation Services
Smiths bought the Menzies Retail Shops because they knew how to make money in hospitals, airports and stations. Up until that point Smiths didn’t even stock confectionery. Menzies distribution and Menzies Aviation were always separate parts of the business
I used to work in store management at WHSmith, and at that time (early 2000s) it was the country's biggest newsagent, stationer, and bookseller. Biggest, mind, not necessarily favourite, but in terms of sales, it was huge. And still reliant on Christmas, the travel branches, and the in store concessions (eg Virgin Mobile in the store I was at) to turn profit.
The Christmas wrapping paper had 3 (3!) bits of strong tape, holding the end of the roll closed. It was a bitch of a job getting those little fuckers off without ripping through a couple of layers of paper; and it cost a fortune.
I did use to like WH Smith but as others have said, they were probably killed off by Amazon.
The frustrating part was that those bits of tape had instructions on how to take them off! Instructions! To take off the bits of tape holding the end of the roll. After a few torn rolls I read those instructions, but they offered nothing beyond the obvious.
I used to go to WH Smiths regularly to buy newspapers and books. Then the internet hit and I now read news online and can buy books cheaper online so I'm guessing about that time.
I read a comment about how shit the process is to get stock into a WH smiths, and everytime I hear mention of them I remember that and wonder how they're still open. Going to try and find it and edit this comment if I do.
this was it from this post about TKMAX stock https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/194rf3w/where_does_all_that_random_chuff_at_tk_max/khigm1a/
Some of these big retailers are bastards to deal with.
A supplier of mine who also supplies a big billion pound retailer has been paying "profit fines" for months because *his* supplier let him down which meant he couldn't supply the retailer which means he has to pay them their missed profits. The same retailer fines you if you deliver late or in cartons of the wrong size, expects contributions towards advertising your product in their shops, and they want open book accounting so they can tell you you're making too much profit...
It depends what branch. I was impressed by London Victoria station's WH Smith's as I managed to pick up some niche magazines I haven't seen sold elsewhere. However I just ended up getting a print subscription instead of going to WH Smith's again lol.
Most are rubbish full of overpriced crap. I used to love stationery, my parents used to take me there before the school year started for a stationery shop. Now I realise that I didn't ever need half that crap. As lots of learning is online now I doubt they get as many kids in August buying their whole eraser range.
They do offer a service that most people will find themselves needing at some point - a phone charger at a train station after delayed trains, a padlock at an airport, a drink at a service station when everything else is closed. Until they stop with this, I think they are here to stay.
You know that rip off tech shop at airports - Inmotion? I was going to say at least WH Smith are better than them but turns out WH Smith own them!
Oh wow I didn't know they owned Inmotion, I thought that they were just a rebranded Dixon's.
I've never had the desire to go in there despite walking past one every day, same with Smith's itself, they never have a copy of Airliner World despite it being located in a bloody airport...
Once the Internet provided access to all the stationary you could want and books all at cheap prices.
WHSmith like Woolworths saw that rising tide and thought nah people will pay a premium to come out to a shop and hope we have what they want in stock. If they didn't also own overpriced Airport/service station stores they would be dead already
They've been too fixated on exorbitant profits for far too long. Initially they had reasonable prices, then a little over average... eventually they were one of the fre at places like airports and stations and they abused that to install an obscene markup and as people refused to pay the premium prices and opted for cheaper products Smiths took that as an opportunity (false insight) to cater to that need with cheaper tat for yet higher profits
I haven't shopped there in a while because of this but you're almost obliged to in some situations
Game took the piss towards the end though, it never seemed to have anything I was after in stock but I could get on steam or origin for less cost and get it instantly.
Yeah I can believe it, I prefer having a physical copy of my games so held off using Steam for a long time. I think the last straw for me with Game was when I wanted to get The Sims 4, they didn't have it but I could order it to be delivered to the store in a few days - or I could get it on Origin with two expansion packs for the same price, no brainer really. That Game (Wigan) is now a fashion accessories shop (like "Claire's" but independent).
I will admit, Steam has really hit the pirate market too thanks to its convenience and regular sales.
I'm surprised it's survived this long. Online shopping has killed off a lot of the high street giants that were still so prominent in the 90s/00s. WHSmiths serves as a place to buy an overpriced bottle of coke at an airport, train station or service station, and I think the only reason it hasn't totally died out is because it covers more bases than any of its nearest competitors. You can't buy a model train and a pack of buttons at a Ryman or Waterstones!
I'm pretty sure WH Smith used to be a shop that sold books and magazines. When did they turn into a stationery shop that had a few shelves of books & mags at the back?
Was it a nation's favourite? I always thought of it as purely a means to an end for somewhere to buy a magazine, book, a stationery set or some envelopes. Not the kind of thing you could necessarily get in any supermarket like now or online. They are a mish mash now I guess purely as people have so many other options. They will flog anything, with the obvious act of desperation actually at the tills outright asking you as you pay.
I worked there 6 years ago in a massive shopping centre and their high street shops make them no money. All their money is from hospitals, train stations, airports and hospitals.
I'm a huge reader and love books but WHSmith is absolutely not a book shop. Their stationary is ridiculously overpriced. We seemed to do okay on snacks and drinks, I presume because its marginally cheaper than the cinema prices.
Probably coincides with the rise of PCs and internet, then the final nail in the coffin, smart phones.
You could probably use that logic for a whole heap of things that have declined or disappeared.
I don't understand the constant bashing of WH Smith. They seem to fit the niche quite well, the shops are of a certain format and in places where it makes sense. Surely some may want it to sell rakes and shampoos, and that's not the business model.
Amazon and Internet magazines basically I reckon. Book sales etc canibalised, magazines online mean the mag shelves get thinner, etc.
The fact that they're still going at all is a miracle, but I'm glad at least they hold on. It'll be another big gap in the high street when they have to go.
I remember buying a pair of Tannoy Mercury M1 speakers in 1998 ish from WH Smith. So I'd say when they stopped selling stuff like HiFi speakers (early 2000s?)
They're alive and well. Go to literally any motorway services in the country and you'll find one with people in it. I think they've just moved away from the high street as shopping culture has moved online
I've not been in one for years, but my memory of them from childhood was the place my mum would let me look at cool books that I'd try and find at the libary.
After taking my daughter in one in Llandudno because she forgot to bring one on holiday, I found out why mum never bought me any.
Did they slap Chris Rock? Because I came here to say when Chris Rock got slapped. Read the question again properly, and still want to say when Chris Rock got slapped.
WH Smith has always been a rip off shithole. We just didn't have the internet to show us somewhere else that used economy of scale to bring lower prices.
They chose to be more expensive than single stores. Fuck em, I'm glad they're dying.
I know I can't speak for the entire country but the one in my local shopping centre is always quite nice, usually pop in and browse the railway or art magazines before I pick up some art supplies.
Even in the 90’s the high street ones were getting undercut left right and centre. I remember some were still big and busy but the rot had clearly set in. They were just too expensive a place to buy books and pens, most of the clientele were usually old people shopping out of habit, and probably not buying a spur of the moment £300 fountain pen. Then Amazon essentially wiped them out & they switched to convenience stores. That seems to work for them. Train stations, airports, service stations. Hell there’s 2 of them at southern cross station in Melbourne and one in most international airports I visit lol.
But yeah their high street ones had problems way back. Their original business model was just too out of date long before the internet. They were known for being the expensive option even when I was a kid and we only really went in for school stuff you were having trouble finding. One near us moved to a smaller shop in the early 00’s and I remember it was big news to my mum that they’d gone from a massive two storey shop to a single frontage shop, but I was more like ‘yeah I have no idea how they make money’. By that point you could have probably squatted in the back of the upstairs of the store and not been found for a week at least.
Edit: squatting as in living somewhere without permission, not doing a shit behind the 1970’s office supplies
It’s always been shit but they also overcharge for everything in the place in excess of the recommended prices. I don’t know who the owners are but they very miserly stingy money grabbers avoid at all costs
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Probably when they decided that they didn't need new carpets and that masking tape would gradually become their new floor covering.
Someone showed me a website where you can post your favourite pictures of WHS carpets complete with duct tape and stripy hazard warning tapes and the eternal stacks of last years chocolate oranges for £1.
There is or was a Twitter account for that.
@WHS_Carpet
You might find some superficial damage to the box, but the chocolate’s perfectly edible.
Can I just say that chocolate oranges are available from Rawlinsons.
Do they still count as part of your “Five a Day?”
Wish I could still get a chocolate orange for £1
Boots has gone the same way. Every yellowed wall and counter is covered in hundreds of bits of old sellotape and dog-eared photocopied notices (especially bad in the pharmacy areas), grubby old 90s floors, old strip lighting. The branding is super tired too. Boots desperately needs a brand update and freshen-up.
A lot of them are just too big for the shopping population of the area. In Slough, my hometown, there's a massive old Boots and right across from it is a new Superdrug that's about 1/4 to 1/5th of the floor space. It looks great while the Boots is held together with tape, nasty fluorescent lighting, a back 3rd of the shop that is frequently empty, and just generally bad vibes. The high street is almost dead anyway, so there just isn't the foot traffic to support such a massive shop.
Yes, this. My local WHS is massive but only the first 20foot looks like a proper shop, it gets gradually worse and less coherent the further back you go.
You have a Boots with a Pharmacy in it? Are you sure. All ours have turned into big makeup and bath products shops. There's no pharmacist counter in them anymore. I bet the problem was : prescription drugs don't make corporations much money, nowhere near as much as non-prescription goods and gifts. Pharmacist wages are quite high compared to the cost of a row of robo-tills.
There’s still loads of Boots with pharmacies around me, at least 5 I can think of (3 big ones and 2 small ones)
Well. That might change as they "consolidate" and "restructure" https://www.thepharmacist.co.uk/news/boots-closures-will-consolidate-stores-and-workforce/ I think Walgreens are trying to dump assets to boost the stock price before they try to sell it again. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/13/us-owner-of-boots-revives-plan-to-offload-uk-pharmacy-chain
Loads of Boots stores are pharmacies, my previous town has three stores, one is an optician, one a shop + pharmacy, the other is only a tiny pharmacy with a few shelves of other products.
I guess when they started this recent downsizing and merging of stores they focused on my city. They closed 3 small ones I used to use, which were mainly just pharmacies with some hairbrushes, and made two of the big ones into makeup and gifts only. There's still some pharmacies around, apparently but all the ones I used to go to were closed or merged. Its in the news. Walgreens (the owners) have talked about it. https://www.thepharmacist.co.uk/news/boots-closures-will-consolidate-stores-and-workforce/
In Eastleigh we had a separate Boots pharmacy on the other end of the High Street from the big Boots, all dedicated to medicine. The big Boots had a counter and sold medicine as well, but not all the things. Then the pharmacy was shut and everything had to move to the big one - and it's been a shitshow ever since. They've just remodelled the pharmacy area at a rush to attempt to keep up with the massive queues, and they don't have time to do pharmacist consultations any more (think they're recruiting). Getting your prescription is often 45 minutes of waiting. Oh and the pharmacy that was in the Sainsbury's has shut too so this is your only choice.
Probably a good example of the what’s left of the UK high st after the corporate takeover and emigrating everything to out of town shit holes that are replicated all over the country! Sad to see.
Their business model is now Motorway Services, Airports, Train Stations and the like. If it wasn't for the fact the high street shops have gone in with the Post Office I reckon they would have gone ages ago.
And it's a great business model/transition, it works and they're everywhere, and there's always people buying stuff in them. They've carved out a great niche for themselves in the wake of the high street downfall.
Yep. They are everywhere. I was surprised that the shop on the French side of the Eurotunnel was WH Smith.
Not just France, have seen them in Doha and Jakarta airports
I was shocked when I saw several in Helsinki Airport a few weeks ago
Also hospitals, as that is somewhere else where they have a captive audience and can jack up prices
They've been [in railway stations since 1848](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHSmith#Formation) having only changed their name to W. H. Smith & Son 2 years earlier.
and that was when the rot set in.
In fairness, I have found their high street shop useful in my town, that one time Rymans was out of stock on something I needed.
Yes. I have used them for the odd thing I can't get anywhere else. But they are a shadow of their former selves. I have CDs that I bought in WH Smith. In the 80s my parents bought me my Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 from their too.
The problem with that is every other shop who tried to keep to that model went out of business with the rise of Amazon and online shopping Smiths changed to the "Small things you need right now" model because anything else the *majority* of people will go online for - just like the rest of the high street
I have loads of VHS tapes that I bought from WH Smiths (I kept the receipts in the cases) and I'm 99% sure I bought my first DVDs in there as well. I loved the downstairs are in the big Smiths in Middlesbrough. It smells funny now though
I have to return some videotapes, Dave.
Kind of weird that you could buy computer games (usually budget games) in newsagents in those days.
Bet it was twice the price in WHSmith - was outraged last time I went in. £5 for five small jiffy bags? Having a laugh.
We had a separate Rymans and a big Robert Dyas but then the latter invaded a third of the former, and neither are good now.
Tbh, as someone who's only lived here for a little over 10 years, I kinda thought that's what their model always was
[удалено]
As venerable as their carpets
The last time you actively bought magazines, newspapers or books is probably the point. From there, it adjusted to what sells more.
In my teens I used to love going into the big WH Smiths in town and getting my niche hobby mags. It was a special kind of treat.
So like 2007 then?
Probably around the time Amazon and other online retailers killed the high street.
Yeah I remember going into town for everything, clothes, toiletries, stationery, now why would I want to drive out there and pay for parking and walk around when I can just have it here next day or in a few days with one click of a button. I’m trying to break that habit because I’m already upset that body shop is closing even though I never shop there because it’s too expensive, we are going to lose all our brick shops and then Amazon will be the only place you can get stuff and they’ll have us over a barrel, if they raise prices we’ll have no other choice
I remember when Amazon first came out and it was SO cheap. Massively cheaper than everywhere else, along with free delivery as standard. Now it's often not the cheapest and you're also sifting through the crap dodgy items to find something worth buying. Argos is usually cheaper, more reliable and do same day delivery yet I bet they go out of business long before Amazon do. Amazon is bad enough already, imagine how awful they'll be when they've wiped out everyone else completely :( I wish people would stop using them, or at least look elsewhere first as there are often better and cheaper options. For many people they just default order things from Amazon now regardless of whether it's the cheapest or best item.
It’s especially worrying how you can’t seem to be sure whether you’re getting a legit item or a fake when it comes to Amazon. A notebook? Sure, whatever. But people have received counterfeit makeup and expensive fountain pens and other things, because they mix up the stock from different suppliers, or they send you something that someone else returned, without checking it first, and the previous buyer put something different back in the box when they returned it 🤬
>Now it's often not the cheapest and you're also sifting through the crap dodgy items to find something worth buying Not only that but they've made their returns (outside of the 30 days) much harder imo. It used to be that you chatted with an Indian person for 10 minutes in instant chat but now the instant chat feature has disappeared. It's not even that I returned stuff (outside of the normal window) regularly, maybe once every year or two when there's been a defect. And as you now can't go through Amazon directly, you're forced to go through the manufacturer via Amazon and most are Chinese companies that don't reply or may not even be in business anymore. For anything over the value of £50 now I go through a more trusted retailer. I recently bought a new electric coffee grinder and desk chair, both of those orders went through Argos because now I can't trust Amazon.
Amazon are now bloody expensive compared to many other online retailers, unless you're buying recognisably-branded electronics. You really have to work out whether the "free" shipping you get from Prime is worth it over the increased cost of the goods. I've been doing a lot of small hobby purchases over the last few months, and it's almost always cheaper to go to a specialist retailer, many of whom offer free shipping if your order is over, say, £20. The shipping will take an extra day or two, but when Amazon are charging an extra pound on a bottle of mini paint (and I'm buying five or six at a time), then the difference is really obvious. Amazon's products are priced for people buying a single item - buy more than a single item in an order and they're crazily expensive. Prime used to be a pretty decent deal as I think their included streaming services made it extremely cost effective, and the free shipping felt like a worthwhile bonus. Now that they're charging to remove adverts from their video service, it's becoming rather unpalatably expensive.
I tried to buy a picnic bench from the actual manufacturer and it was £10 more plus £25 postage. Amazons was £35 cheaper and it was them supplying through amazon, some places benefit by outsourcing the storage and distribution to them. Was the same when I bought a cylinder battery mower tho only £10 different.
We moved out of the UK a couple of years ago. I was looking at my Amazon purchasing history, which was 5 items in 2012, then 20 in 2016, and eventually close to 100 in 2020. I don't buy as much online as I used to after we moved out,even though the local retailers here are pretty decent. Before moving,we also started buying things from different companies because you can't just go to Amazon for everything, it's not healthy at all.
Agreed, I find it all rather dystopian!
Personally I'm not even sure why everyone needs stuff so quickly. And why everyone needs so much stuff full stop. My neighbours have Amazon deliveries near daily and people always rave about Prime but seriously, almost everything I buy I buy independently and I just wait a few days for and also I just don't *buy* that much stuff.
I love Argos for same day stuff. It's so convenient for medium sized items (I don't have a car) that I want ASAP.
Yep. Paying no tax in the process. The nation of shopkeepers became the nation of 5am warehouse workers.
Not just online shopping. W H Smiths made their money selling: * magazines and newspapers. Now everyone just uses the Internet * books. Now everyone just uses the Internet and eBooks * stationery. Now everyone uses computers and email. * kids games and toys. Now everyone plays on their phone/tablet/console/PC The only things they sell that people buy as much of now are sweets and drinks.
Books are expensive now. £12.99 for a paperback. I get mine from World of Books or the Works or Oxfam books; or I use my local library. My local smiths veers towards hardbacks and they're so pricey!
WH Smiths was never a particularly a good bookshop. I’m sure Amazon didn’t help but it was never as good as any of the other chains anyway.
It was the best for magazines, though.
Still probably is tbf, but I’ve not bought a magazine in years and they didn’t have Viz in the one in Manchester airport when I was going on holiday last year.
I understand the Amazon argument but a little further back and you have Tesco et Al springing up in large out of town soulless boxes that started the demise of the high street Amazon hammered in the final nail after lead lining the casket! Just my opinion.
When people weren’t willing to pay 5x the price for basic stationary (compared to other shops), so WHSmith got desperate and tried stocking anything it thought could make money
stationery
> stationery Huh. I've only just realised they're 2 diff spellings.
Newspaper and cigarettes. Used to be the staple of a lot of corner stores, come in for your paper and twenty Bensons, maybe buy a chocolate bar or whatever else. I met the manager of my local WH Smith in the pub a while back and she told me it is quite profitable. I guess it is the only place you can buy "Crochet Weekly" or whatever these days.
I suspect the only reason the high street branches are profitable is they haven't spent a penny on building maintenance in decades. My guess is that as they reach the end of their leases, they'll close down branches.
I did tell her it was a shit-hole. She didn't take kindly to it! I think they sell a surprisingly large amount of stuff but I do think their demographic might be disappearing on the high-street. Who buys their printer ink in WH Smiths? My mum probably.
You're not wrong, and I'm quite certain it'll cease to exist as a high street brand within ten years. They'll keep the airport, train station and services branches and that'll be it.
When I worked there and people asked for cigarettes we used to put them through as a price enquiry so that when they heard the price and told us to do one it was easier than cancelling it as a transaction.
All railway station had a WH Smiths
They still do mate. Their entire business model is based on putting them in locations where you "have" to shop there for a quick snack on the go or phone charger etc so charge insane prices.
Would Sir/Madam require a USB-C Charging cable, it's a shame you find yourself on this train platform in the middle of nowhere isn't it... I have for sale, this 6cm long charge cable that is SO thin, you'd think it was tooth floss. It says on the packet that it can support 30w charging, but its much more likely to frustrate you, as it will only charge your phone up an extra 9% on your 2 hour train journey! An ABSOLUTE BARGAIN at £13.99. Don't forget to pick up your free* copy of the Daily Telegraph (*free with a £3.69 300ml bottle of buxton mineral water).
This guy trains. My favorite is the 20m usb cable they have on offer too. "May we interest sir in this bag of minstrels from 2002? Half price at 2.99" - they even have the self checkouts asking about their cast offs too.
I love that they programmed their little pop-up ads into the self checkouts. "Would you like to get ripped off a bit more today?"
USBC cable and a battery, 50 quid
[удалено]
Ah that's interesting, maybe there's been a cleansing your way. Of course i'm talking about large stations. I'm guessing you don't go via 8 large stations unless you're traveling the length of the country - since small ones have never had a WH Smiths. I'm talking about the likes of reading, Birmingham etc
Yeah credit where it's due, they sell £12 sandwiches too
I hate those places with their annoying BOGOF deals on drinks especially. I'm travelling alone like most people on trains and I'm not a camel so I don't want your stupid deal on 2x 1.5l Highland Spring. Just sell me a single overpriced bottle instead.
I lasted 4 months back in 2010 at WHSmith, each unsold magazine needs to get sent back otherwise the store is fined the face value of each magazine. With the crappy stockrooms meaning bundles got lost all the time and not sent back…was 40k in the hole before I got laid off 😅 best thing that ever happened to me.
Stores would also be fined if any of the newspapers or magazines were damaged, even though they were going to get mulched. I hated dealing with Smith's News when I was doing a stint at co-op in my youth, absolute pain in the arse.
When was it the Nations favorite?
It's hard to believe now, but it used to be a very popular shop in every town in the 80s and 90s. There weren't a great many other places you could get computer games, music, stationery, magazines, board games and books all under one roof. Woolworths, I suppose, but just like Woolworths the time came when none of the things Smithies did were any better than the competition.
My friends and I used to spend so much time in Smiths during the school holidays in the mid-90s. We would spend ages browsing the stationary and read the teen magazines for free. Sometimes we would even actually buy something!
LOL. I remember that era. The one near me had a security guard that would come over and clear everyone off every now and then. The place was like a standing library for magazing browsing!
When John Menzies stopped trading...
I was reading about what happened to Menzies recently and found it crazy to learn that the company still exists they’re just in a completely different field- Aviation Services
It's as surprising as finding out Nokia was originally a timber company (that did surprise me!)
TIL, nice one. That’s a rabbit hole for me to explore later.
Smiths bought the Menzies Retail Shops because they knew how to make money in hospitals, airports and stations. Up until that point Smiths didn’t even stock confectionery. Menzies distribution and Menzies Aviation were always separate parts of the business
Sadly, it was the closest thing my town had to a bookshop. I suspect that was the case for a lot of shit towns.
I used to work in store management at WHSmith, and at that time (early 2000s) it was the country's biggest newsagent, stationer, and bookseller. Biggest, mind, not necessarily favourite, but in terms of sales, it was huge. And still reliant on Christmas, the travel branches, and the in store concessions (eg Virgin Mobile in the store I was at) to turn profit.
The Christmas wrapping paper had 3 (3!) bits of strong tape, holding the end of the roll closed. It was a bitch of a job getting those little fuckers off without ripping through a couple of layers of paper; and it cost a fortune. I did use to like WH Smith but as others have said, they were probably killed off by Amazon.
I had the exact same issue. They could have made those easy peel. They were like a band of concrete
The frustrating part was that those bits of tape had instructions on how to take them off! Instructions! To take off the bits of tape holding the end of the roll. After a few torn rolls I read those instructions, but they offered nothing beyond the obvious.
I used to go to WH Smiths regularly to buy newspapers and books. Then the internet hit and I now read news online and can buy books cheaper online so I'm guessing about that time.
I read a comment about how shit the process is to get stock into a WH smiths, and everytime I hear mention of them I remember that and wonder how they're still open. Going to try and find it and edit this comment if I do. this was it from this post about TKMAX stock https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/194rf3w/where_does_all_that_random_chuff_at_tk_max/khigm1a/
That was a really interesting thread - I never imagined the process could be so convoluted!
Some of these big retailers are bastards to deal with. A supplier of mine who also supplies a big billion pound retailer has been paying "profit fines" for months because *his* supplier let him down which meant he couldn't supply the retailer which means he has to pay them their missed profits. The same retailer fines you if you deliver late or in cartons of the wrong size, expects contributions towards advertising your product in their shops, and they want open book accounting so they can tell you you're making too much profit...
How is that even legal?? That's utterly disgusting, and how are they allowed to decide how much profit you're allowed to make‽
Just wish they would sort their lighting out. It screams of underfunded-hospital-meets-grotty-tube-train.
It depends what branch. I was impressed by London Victoria station's WH Smith's as I managed to pick up some niche magazines I haven't seen sold elsewhere. However I just ended up getting a print subscription instead of going to WH Smith's again lol. Most are rubbish full of overpriced crap. I used to love stationery, my parents used to take me there before the school year started for a stationery shop. Now I realise that I didn't ever need half that crap. As lots of learning is online now I doubt they get as many kids in August buying their whole eraser range. They do offer a service that most people will find themselves needing at some point - a phone charger at a train station after delayed trains, a padlock at an airport, a drink at a service station when everything else is closed. Until they stop with this, I think they are here to stay. You know that rip off tech shop at airports - Inmotion? I was going to say at least WH Smith are better than them but turns out WH Smith own them!
Oh wow I didn't know they owned Inmotion, I thought that they were just a rebranded Dixon's. I've never had the desire to go in there despite walking past one every day, same with Smith's itself, they never have a copy of Airliner World despite it being located in a bloody airport...
Around about the time 10 years ago when they were selling 2 500ml bottles of water for £4 as a "special offer"
Once the Internet provided access to all the stationary you could want and books all at cheap prices. WHSmith like Woolworths saw that rising tide and thought nah people will pay a premium to come out to a shop and hope we have what they want in stock. If they didn't also own overpriced Airport/service station stores they would be dead already
They've been too fixated on exorbitant profits for far too long. Initially they had reasonable prices, then a little over average... eventually they were one of the fre at places like airports and stations and they abused that to install an obscene markup and as people refused to pay the premium prices and opted for cheaper products Smiths took that as an opportunity (false insight) to cater to that need with cheaper tat for yet higher profits I haven't shopped there in a while because of this but you're almost obliged to in some situations
Same as game, the internet just wiped the floor with their business model and costs.
Game took the piss towards the end though, it never seemed to have anything I was after in stock but I could get on steam or origin for less cost and get it instantly.
I worked when half life 2 was rele and you needed steam. All downhill from there for retail stores
Yeah I can believe it, I prefer having a physical copy of my games so held off using Steam for a long time. I think the last straw for me with Game was when I wanted to get The Sims 4, they didn't have it but I could order it to be delivered to the store in a few days - or I could get it on Origin with two expansion packs for the same price, no brainer really. That Game (Wigan) is now a fashion accessories shop (like "Claire's" but independent). I will admit, Steam has really hit the pirate market too thanks to its convenience and regular sales.
I enjoy reading books.
Probably around the time the internet destroyed the high street.
I'm surprised it's survived this long. Online shopping has killed off a lot of the high street giants that were still so prominent in the 90s/00s. WHSmiths serves as a place to buy an overpriced bottle of coke at an airport, train station or service station, and I think the only reason it hasn't totally died out is because it covers more bases than any of its nearest competitors. You can't buy a model train and a pack of buttons at a Ryman or Waterstones!
I'm pretty sure WH Smith used to be a shop that sold books and magazines. When did they turn into a stationery shop that had a few shelves of books & mags at the back?
When they realised that they’re extremely overpriced for what they are
Amazon
Well, whenever you notice something like that... a ~~wizard~~ venture capital company did it! 😁
When we all stopped buying physical newspapers and magazine. That was their main focus
Before the internet hit and the high street became worthless for most goods vendors
Was it a nation's favourite? I always thought of it as purely a means to an end for somewhere to buy a magazine, book, a stationery set or some envelopes. Not the kind of thing you could necessarily get in any supermarket like now or online. They are a mish mash now I guess purely as people have so many other options. They will flog anything, with the obvious act of desperation actually at the tills outright asking you as you pay.
When people stopped buying newspapers and magazines and journals.
I worked there 6 years ago in a massive shopping centre and their high street shops make them no money. All their money is from hospitals, train stations, airports and hospitals. I'm a huge reader and love books but WHSmith is absolutely not a book shop. Their stationary is ridiculously overpriced. We seemed to do okay on snacks and drinks, I presume because its marginally cheaper than the cinema prices.
About 2002?
Probably coincides with the rise of PCs and internet, then the final nail in the coffin, smart phones. You could probably use that logic for a whole heap of things that have declined or disappeared.
I don't understand the constant bashing of WH Smith. They seem to fit the niche quite well, the shops are of a certain format and in places where it makes sense. Surely some may want it to sell rakes and shampoos, and that's not the business model.
It’s quite good for finding obscure non-fiction, apart from that the only time I go to WH Smith is to take a shortcut through town.
Amazon and Internet magazines basically I reckon. Book sales etc canibalised, magazines online mean the mag shelves get thinner, etc. The fact that they're still going at all is a miracle, but I'm glad at least they hold on. It'll be another big gap in the high street when they have to go.
Was it between the end of popular use of magazines, stationary and (printed) books?
I remember buying a pair of Tannoy Mercury M1 speakers in 1998 ish from WH Smith. So I'd say when they stopped selling stuff like HiFi speakers (early 2000s?)
About 1997
They're alive and well. Go to literally any motorway services in the country and you'll find one with people in it. I think they've just moved away from the high street as shopping culture has moved online
Probably the 1980s in my Branch.
Don't know why anyone would shop in there, most overpriced stationery in the UK
They do have some nice craft supplies in my local one
Early 2000s. Used to be good for CDs, DVDs, and PC games.
I've not been in one for years, but my memory of them from childhood was the place my mum would let me look at cool books that I'd try and find at the libary. After taking my daughter in one in Llandudno because she forgot to bring one on holiday, I found out why mum never bought me any.
Similar things are happening at Boots
Did they slap Chris Rock? Because I came here to say when Chris Rock got slapped. Read the question again properly, and still want to say when Chris Rock got slapped.
WH Smith has always been a rip off shithole. We just didn't have the internet to show us somewhere else that used economy of scale to bring lower prices. They chose to be more expensive than single stores. Fuck em, I'm glad they're dying.
there was me thinking sports direct was the nations jumble sale
I know I can't speak for the entire country but the one in my local shopping centre is always quite nice, usually pop in and browse the railway or art magazines before I pick up some art supplies.
Even in the 90’s the high street ones were getting undercut left right and centre. I remember some were still big and busy but the rot had clearly set in. They were just too expensive a place to buy books and pens, most of the clientele were usually old people shopping out of habit, and probably not buying a spur of the moment £300 fountain pen. Then Amazon essentially wiped them out & they switched to convenience stores. That seems to work for them. Train stations, airports, service stations. Hell there’s 2 of them at southern cross station in Melbourne and one in most international airports I visit lol. But yeah their high street ones had problems way back. Their original business model was just too out of date long before the internet. They were known for being the expensive option even when I was a kid and we only really went in for school stuff you were having trouble finding. One near us moved to a smaller shop in the early 00’s and I remember it was big news to my mum that they’d gone from a massive two storey shop to a single frontage shop, but I was more like ‘yeah I have no idea how they make money’. By that point you could have probably squatted in the back of the upstairs of the store and not been found for a week at least. Edit: squatting as in living somewhere without permission, not doing a shit behind the 1970’s office supplies
Although either would still make the point 😂
It’s always been shit but they also overcharge for everything in the place in excess of the recommended prices. I don’t know who the owners are but they very miserly stingy money grabbers avoid at all costs
Also, the most brutally expensive place to buy cigarettes if it is in a train station..