Full list of WHSmith store closures after another one shuts for good

Posted by author February 17, 2025 Shopping

The shop is a British high street classic (Picture: Maureen McLean/REX/Shutterstock)

Another WHSmith store has shut for good as part of a string of closures across the country.

Bolton’s Crompton Place store served its last customers on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the retailer 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.’

Branches have already been closed in Scotland, Kent, and Manchester, with more set to follow, marking another blow to the UK high street.

Before Bolton, the most recent closure was at The Malls in Basingstoke on February 1.

WHSmith previously announced plans to open 110 new branches in airports, railway stations and hospitals, where profits were higher than in their high street stores.

In another move to revamp their stores, they said they will begin selling vinyl records again in response to a growing trend among shoppers, after thirty years off their shelves.

The stationary retailer also announced last year that 76 of its stores will stock Toys R Us products – an iconic toy shop that disappeared almost a decade ago.

A Bolton branch staff member, Aaron Highet, told Bolton News: ‘It has been such a good experience and I’ve enjoyed my time here.

‘The customers come in with a smile and want to chat. The staff have been lovely and are brilliant to get on with.’

A shopper called Wendy meanwhile said she was very sad about the closure after visiting the store ‘for decades’, for magazines, books and pens.

Which WHSmith stores have closed in the past 18 months

These shops already bid farewell in 2025 and so far in 2025 across the UK:

Alfreton, Derbyshire – January, 2024
Ramsgate, Kent – January, 2024
Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland – February, 2024
Nantwich, South Cheshire – February, 2024
Margate, Kent – April, 2024
Bridgwater – September 2024
Sale, Manchester – September 2024
Bournemouth – October, 2024
Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth – January, 2025
Basingstoke – February, 2025

Full list of WHSmith stores closing in 2025

Here is a full list of stores closing in this year:

Basingstoke – February 2025
Accrington – March 2025
Diss – April 2025
Newport, April 2025
Oldham, May 2025

One of the latest closures to be announced is Oldham. WHSmith spokesperson told the Oldham Times it was ‘no longer sustainable’ to continue trading from its current site in a shopping centre.

Which stores are opening?

There are some new stores opening as WHSmith moves away from the high street to instead focus around travel hubs, such as train stations and airports.

According to its company accounts, travel sales grew by 15% over the same time frame compared to a 3% fall in revenue for its high street portfolio.

Revenue across the business meanwhile had risen by 8% over the 20 weeks to January 20, in comparison to the same period the previous year.

This means for WHSmith, it is more profitable for them to open stores in travel hubs, as they can make more money than on the high streets.

A shopper passes a WHSmith store offering a clearance sale in Slough, UK, on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. The UK economy flatlined in the third quarter, defying forecasts of a small contraction and ensuring a recession is avoided this year, as strong trade came to the rescue of poor domestic activity. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images — The shops will be popping up around travel hubs, rather than high streets (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It previously pledge to open 15 stores in 2024, with an additional 15 after that ‘each year over the medium term.’

Speaking to the BBC, WHSmith’s CEO Carl Cowling said the newsagent had spent more than £100 million opening new stores in airports, and aimed to capture over 20% of the airport retail market over the next four years in the US and Europe.

Kate Hardcastle, chief executive of retail insights agency, Insight with Passion, added that airports and service stations were a ‘golden opportunity’ for WH Smith, after they had been ‘dwindling’ on High Streets.

‘As more of us now travel with technology we are all the more likely to forget essentials, all much more of a selling opportunity than the odd bottle of water.’

‘A retailer like WH Smith is going to see the value in investing and building a new captive airport audience than a challenged High Street,’ she added.

Which stores will stock vinyls?

Music fans will soon be able to pick up records in more than 80 WHSmith sites across the nation.

The newsagent initially stopped selling vinyls over thirty years ago, when demand for the product slowed.

But since 2006, sales have started to increase as some people pivoted to a more ‘vintage’ way of listening to music, while others switched from CDs to iTunes and streaming.

Sales for the classic music product grew for the 16th year in a row last year, with over six million sold.

Emma Smyth, commercial director of the newsagent said: ‘After thirty years vinyl is back at WHSmith,

‘I’m sure there are many customers out there who remember spending hours in record shops browsing the latest vinyl LPs and the artistic record covers.

‘It’s no surprise that vinyl is growing in popularity again, and we are very excited to be bringing back record selections to more than 80 different stores across the UK for both seasoned fans and new listeners alike,’ she added.