The closures come as part of a company-wide strategy to shift focus away from high street branches and onto travel hubs. Previously, the retailer said it planned to open 110 new branches in airports, railway stations, and hospitals over the coming years
WHSmith closed four high street stores in February with another set to go next month.
The closures come as part of a company-wide strategy to shift focus away from high street branches and onto travel hubs. As part of its plans, the stationary chain plans to sell 500 of its high street stores, which puts around 5,000 jobs at risk. Previously, the retailer said it planned to open 110 new branches in airports, railway stations, and hospitals, where profits were higher than in their high street stores.
This month saw its branch in Basingstoke, Hampshire, close in February, with three more branches shutting for good last weekend. Stores in Winton, Rhyl, and Bolton all pulled down their shutters for the final time last Saturday. On its Bolton closure, a spokesperson for WHSmith said: “We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Bolton and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us.”
However, the closures will not stop here, sadly, with another high street branch in Accrington set to close in March, with its final day of trading being Saturday, 15. WHSmith said the decision to close their store in the Arndale Centre was made as a result of their upcoming lease expiry. The company confirmed it will support staff through the transition and, where possible, redeploy them to other stores.
A spokesperson for WHSmith said: “We can confirm that the WHSmith store in Accrington will be closing on March 15, 2025. It is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry. We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Accrington and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us. We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in-store colleges who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”
Further branches are set to close before May, include the WHSmith branch in Diss, Newport, and Oldham. Branches that have already closed include those in Scotland, Kent, and Manchester over the last few weeks.
Full list of WHSmith stores closing in 2025
- Accrington – March 2025
- Diss – April 2025
- Newport – April 2025
- Oldham – May 2025