Global travel and high street retailer WHSmith has just come out of a peak summer season that saw total travel revenue grow 10%. Retail Week speaks to WHSmith managing director of UK travel Andrew Harrison about a successful summer, expanding categories and the all-important Christmas season.
What do you think draws customers into WHSmith in travel locations?
“We’ve done loads of research on this trying to understand that question. We’ve been around for 230 years and we’ve been a travel retailer for 175 years, so I think people associate WHSmith with travel.
“When people get into airports, one of the first places they go is WHSmith. I think it’s to do with our longevity, our brand recognition and trust, and we’ve been really dialling up on our food and health and beauty offer, so people don’t have any concerns about shopping with us for those products.”
What are the best-selling categories?
“We’ve got a real advantage in terms of customers using our store as a destination for essentials when they’re in a travel location. We really rely on the depth of the range and the offer to be compelling – so things like news, magazines and books are still really important, especially in a travel environment.
“Other big areas for us have been food and beverage, health and beauty, and technology is one where we’ve continued to evolve our offer. We’ve got this new range called Good Vibes, which are tech accessories like wired headphones, covers for AirPod cases, chargers and power banks, but all in a really vibrant colour. We’ve found that it’s sold really well under our InMotion brand, but we found it’s brought in much more of a Gen Z demographic into that space. So we’re looking at doing a little bit more in the future.”
Are you considering introducing Toys R Us to WHSmith travel stores?
“It’s not something we’ve looked at at this stage, partly because I think the UK high street team are very much focused on them. They’ve got another 37 stores that they’re opening before Christmas, so they’ve got a really pretty full programme.
“Toys are definitely a category that does pretty well in travel with the needs of the travelling public quite specific around toys. It’s a category that performs very differently when there are children travelling and there’s lots of complexities around those categories. It’s not on our radar, but we’re always open to looking at different partnerships.”
And how are the Curi.o.city stores performing?
“This has been a really good test bed, because it’s something that’s very different to what we do in our core offer. We know that localised souvenirs are really important in certain parts of the country like Scotland, London or Liverpool, and the mix changes in terms of what the demand is for souvenirs.
“So for the Curi.o.city stores in airports, it’s about gifting, souvenirs and toys, while in our rail locations the product is much more focused around cards and stationery. This is a really great brand for us because it’s enabling us to test different product areas and capabilities, and these stores are slightly less volume-driven. It’s still a very small part of our business, but it’s a really good R&D basis for us.”
Are you planning to add specific ranges in time for Christmas?
“Before we get to Christmas, we’ve also got Halloween, so we’ve got micro seasons that we enjoy promoting. Generally, travel locations tend to be a little bit more about last-minute gifting, but people buy into confectionery, chocolate and snacking throughout the Christmas season. I think we had some of our Christmas snacking ranges in August and it’s already starting to sell.
“The other thing we’re really excited about is our Christmas sandwich range, which we’re going to be launching in the next few weeks under the Smith’s Family Kitchen brand. We’ve spent a load of time on the ingredients and really stretched ourselves in terms of different flavours
No comments yet