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Major update over 480 WHSmith stores disappearing from high streetWHSmith, which has stores in Birmingham, is set to complete this month before the brand disappears from the high street for
good.What's OnJames Rodger Content Editor08:29, 04 Jun 2025WHSmith, which has stores in Birmingham, is set to complete this month before the brand disappears from the high street for good. A
major update has been issued over the future of 480 WHSmith stores. WHSmith, which has stores in Birmingham, is set to complete this month before the brand disappears from the high street
for good.
The deal to sell off the branches to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital is set to be finalised by the end of June, WHSmith said. The deal will see the iconic brand name disappear from high
streets.
The stores will be replaced under new brand name TGJones. Carl Cowling, chief of the high street brand, said in March: "We have a highly successful Travel business, operating in fast
growing markets in 32 countries and we are constantly innovating to deliver strong returns and meet our customers' and partners' needs.
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"Our Travel business currently accounts for around 75% of the Group's revenue and 85% of its trading profit." “An internal email to staff has said that Modella has “chosen to keep the blue
and white brand colours which you will all be familiar with”, for “a sense of reassuring continuity”.
Article continues below “It feels incredibly close, a poor mirror of WH Smith and not necessarily very well thought through,” says Charlotte Black, the chief strategy officer at Saffron
Brand Consultants.
“I would say it feels hasty – an ‘insert here’ strategy – and a bit of a missed opportunity. Buying the high street stores could have been a blank sheet of paper to put a lot of meaning
behind what the future offering might be for the public.”
“When it comes down to putting out a new name, especially dealing with such an iconic legacy brand, there is always going to be a lot of negative sentiment,” says Black. “By just changing
the name in the way they have, they now really need to come swiftly to what their new value proposition is going to be.
Article continues below “They could have used the new name as a way to ignite change. So now what is important is what they do next to put meaning behind TGJones.”