The High Street Crisis in Britain

WH SMiths will be gone from the high street after been sold to a Vulture capitalist

^The Name will only exist in the Travel stores only, Time will tell just how good a move it will be for the stores they bought.

For me personally it is mixture of excitement and sadness. Sadness in seeing the WH Smith name disappearing from what is an irrevocably changed High Street landscape in this country after over 200 years. I like many will have fond memories of visiting WH Smith when young for a good many reasons. Add in to that the store where I work in, was recently saved from closing, I just hope we are not put in that position again with regards to the new ownership.

On the Excitement side once we change ovr We'll all be wondering what new stock will be like. But there is also a thought that the Government needs to step in and protect what HIgh Street British brand names are left from disappearing for ever, so that any takeover deals include that any new owner buying a British Brand on the High Street has to continue trading in that name.

Went into work yesterday and was told the news that the CEO of TG Jones (the new name for W H Smith's old High St Stores) held a meeting Monday with area managers and they were told that some 80 stores face closure.

While atm, we don't know the impact of this decision - and as to which stores they are likely to be - but it does seem like a case of deja vu for us, as I wrote nearly 12 months ago, the impact of the WH Smith situation - and now me and my colleagues have to likely deal with this situation again 12 months on, but I hope we don't face the prospect of our store closing a second time and having just passed 21 years service. If it does happen - like I said before will be a very big loss for the town I live in.
We are upbeat that it won't happen to us, but for the time being at least - it seems surreal that this rears it's head a second time in 12 months, it now depends as & when the list is revealed, we are not on it. I remember the first time we weren't on the list they revealed then (when we were W H Smith) and then we found out that like a bolt from the blue that we was. For the last couple of weeks we have been performing well, but still having days when it is quiet.

I did say to my manager after being told this that that if it did turn out this time that we were definitely closing - I'm going to take the early retirement option, and that definitely will be it for me. To even go through this twice in 12 months - is just unbelievable and certainly something I didn't expect to hear again.
But if it was to happen - then I would get my full pension and I certainly wouldn't start looking around for anything else but like I said before, retail is no longer the viable, stable and secure sector of the economy it once was. and to go through this situation again after what happened before seem like lightning has struck twice and doesn't seem possible it was going to happen again.
So these next few weeks are going to be nervous wait while we wait to see what stores are closing for both me and my colleagues I work with. The support we will give each other is the one thing we can be sure of and what I give them in support as well, will get us all through it - whether good news or bad.

Further update - it now looks like it could be up to 100 stores facing closure - was told it could be 4 weeks before we know our fate. It certainly does seem to me like the new owner probably bit off more than they could chew in taking on the High street Stores and some of the financial problems that hit WH Smith have reared their head somewhere