Britischer Private-Equity-Investor plant Schließung von bis zu 80 ehemaligen WHSmith-Filialen
https://www.ft.com/content/6d68de2a-325b-42a6-8547-f0991a723fcd
Von YchYFi
Britischer Private-Equity-Investor plant Schließung von bis zu 80 ehemaligen WHSmith-Filialen
https://www.ft.com/content/6d68de2a-325b-42a6-8547-f0991a723fcd
Von YchYFi
20 Kommentare
Wow, and just after I found out that WHSmith’s had been rebranded as well (via Mock the Week).
Another day, another rapacious private equity enshitification.
WH Smith was a pretty tired brand on the High Street but was probably salvageable with some inspired leadership. The TG Jones brand is completely unknown and has no nostalgia value that could have attracted some level of trade. The whole organisation is just circling the drain.
Nobody will miss a £4 pen!
The only stores that make any money are stations/airports because of the captive market.
Wow, almost like they’re half assed rebrand sad never ment to be permanent
Hmm is this not the worlds worst “plot”. I mean anyone with two braincells knew this was gonna happen. I mean come on have you been inside a WH Smith in the past decade ?
“Private equity investor” is one of those phrases where the first part disagrees with the second part, like “billionaire philanthropist” or “celebrity lifestyle guru”.
The last thing I bought from WH Smith’s was over twenty years ago. It was an erasure album and it was only because it was on offer. I haven’t needed to shop there since. I think it’s only been bumbling along selling meal deals in train stations and hospitals since.
This is the only place to buy books in my town, damn :/
Almost all the post offices near me are inside WHSmiths. What’s gonna happen then?
I don’t think this needed plotting. It’s obviously been going to happen anyway for a very long time.
I don’t think my local branch has any staff any more: it basically operates on an honesty system.
Boots will be next…those massive retail shops can’t be sustainable
Whoever has their money invested with Modella Capital needs to remove it asap because those guys have zero clue what they are doing with other people’s money
WHSmith were in knowing managed decline, the owners knew where it was going, milked it, downsized as required to keep it going as long as it did, then they sell it and required a name change while I think they kept the anke and named airport shops which are pretty profitable – PE has been sold a pup, as usual.
If okay if they remove enough we won’t be able to buy anything from the company thus speeding there imminent demise.
Not even remotely surprised. Sad, but not surprised.
Gone the way of Staples, Wilko’s etc. It’s an expensive business model for low-value items.
Not going to pretend like I visited often, I think I might have been once 5 years ago but it was handy for stationary etc which was a pain to find elsewhere.
Wonder if Rymans will be next?
My daughter loves the toy area in our smiths, and it’s great for kids books. When I was a kid I’d be in smiths for an hour on a Saturday morning reading all the magazines I couldn’t afford. Bit sad if they go completely tbh, thought perhaps the buyout might give them a new lease of life. It’s a big shop in the town to be empty.
Years ago the board decided to focus on the extremely profitable transport hubs and let the high st shops run down.
They then managed to find someone to offload them so whs didn’t have to get rid of staff, stock, leases etc.
PE gets to make money from running them down so everyone but the workers and tax payers win
To be fair they brought this on themselves. After being ripped off in airports and train stations where there are few choices, I would never choose to shop in a WH Smiths.
Wasn’t this the whole point of the TG Jones spin offs? All the profitable stores stayed as Smiths and the non-profitable ones got converted basically with the understanding they’d be closed not long after