WH Smith’s name will be erased across high streets after the 233-year-old company sold part of its business to the owner of Hobbycraft.
The £76m deal will see its 480 high street stores rebrand as TGJones, under the ownership of Modella Capital, which won the final stage of the auction process.
While WH Smith has given up its high street business, it will continue its lucrative travel retail arm, with 1,200 stores, based mainly at airports and railway stations, in 32 countries globally.
But its erasure from UK high streets marks the end of an era stretching back to 1792, when the first WH Smith was opened by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in Little Grosvenor Street, London.
Here’s a look at some of the other high street giants that have disappeared in recent years.
Debenhams
Department store chain Debenhams, like WH Smith, was a staple of British high streets for centuries, first opening its doors in 1778.
But its remaining premises closed permanently in May 2021 after the company collapsed amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Debenhams department store in Suffolk, pictured in 2016. Pic: iStock
The retailer, which employed 20,000 people pre-pandemic, was already struggling before the outbreak, as shoppers moved away from traditional department store models and moved online.
However, it could not cope with the enforced closure of sites during lockdown and quickly went into administration within weeks of the virus fully hitting the UK.
Debenhams was acquired by fashion retailer Boohoo before the stores…
