WH Smith PLC
Type	PLC (LSE: SMWH)
Founded	London (1792)
Headquarters	Swindon, England
Key people	Henry Walton Smith, Founder Robert Walker, Chairman Kate Swann, Chief Executive Officer
Industry	Retail
Revenue	£2.5 billion GBP (2005)
Employees	23,120 (2005)
Website	www.whsmithplc.co.uk (corporate) www.whsmith.co.uk (retail)

The entrance to a small WH Smith store at York railway station

This article is about the retail chain; for people of that name, see William Henry Smith.

W H Smith plc (known colloquially as Smiths) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station and airport shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products. It was a major distributor of newspapers and magazines (demerged in September 2006 as Smiths News plc), and formerly owned publishing businesses, and a number of other retail chains in the United Kingdom, North America, and the Pacific Rim. It is part of the FTSE 250 Index. Image File history File links The logo of British high-street shop WHSmith File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The initials PLC after a UK or Irish company name indicate that it is a public limited company, a type of limited company whose shares may be offered for sale to the public. ... The Source by Greyworld, in the new LSE building Paternoster Square. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... For other places with the same name, see Swindon (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... There are several notable Robert Walkers in hsitory Sir Robert Walker is a member of the British Privy Council. ... Kate Swann Kate Swann is Chief Executive of WH Smith. ... Drawing of a self-service store. ... Revenue is a U.S. business term for the amount of money that a company earns from its activities in a given period, mostly from sales of products and/or services to customers. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... ISO 4217 Code GBP User(s) United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies Inflation 3. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A Web site (or colloquially, Website) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on a Web server, usually accessible via the Internet or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML, that is almost always accessible via HTTP... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x1728, 1840 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): W H Smith User:Xyrael/Gallery Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x1728, 1840 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): W H Smith User:Xyrael/Gallery Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... The approach to York station and the Royal York hotel York railway station is a main-line railway station in the historic city of York. ... There have been two people named William Henry Smith William Henry Smith (1792-1865) William Henry Smith (1825-1891), the son of the above This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... For other places with the same name, see Swindon (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Main Street. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street station in 1865. ... A chained book in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side, and within protective covers. ... Stationery is a general name given to paper and office supplies such as envelopes, notepads, pens, pencils, erasers, paper clips, staples, etc. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Smiths News plc (LSE: NWS) is a British newspaper and magazine distributor, based in Swindon, England. ... This article is concerned with the production of books, magazines, and other literary material (whether in printed or electronic formats). ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The USS Abraham Lincoln Battle Group along with ships from Australia, Chile, Japan, Canada, and Korea speed towards Honolulu in RIMPAC 2000. ... The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation weighted index of 250 companies on the London Stock Exchange. ...

Retail operations

WHSmith Retail is divided into WHSmith High Street, WHSmith Travel Retail and WHSmith Direct. WHSmith Retail employs 19,693 people, and has sales of £1.5bn.

WHSmith High Street is responsible for the operation of the company's 542 high street stores across the United Kingdom.

WHSmith Travel Retail is responsible for the operation of the company's 200 stores at railway stations, airports and hospitals throughout the United Kingdom. These stores serve mainly as a newsagent; selling predominantly newspapers, magazines, books and confectionery. Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street station in 1865. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A chained book in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side, and within protective covers. ... A confection selection The term confectionery refers to food items that are (or at least are perceived to be) rich in sugar. ...

WHSmith Direct is responsible for the company's e-commerce website WHSmith.co.uk which sells goods similar to those for sale in WHSmith high street shops. This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

Both companies are members of the industry trade body, ANMW. An industry trade group is generally a public relations organization funded, founded and formed by corporations that operate in a specific industry. ... The ANMW is a trade association that represents the interests of newspaper & magazine wholesalers across the United Kingdom. ...

News distribution demerger

On 12 April 2006, the board of W H Smith PLC announced its intention to demerge the retail and news distribution arms of the business into two separate companies: April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

• WH Smith PLC - continues as the retail arm
• Smiths News PLC - former newspaper and magazine distribution arm.

The demerger took effect on 30 August 2006. Smiths News plc (LSE: NWS) is a British newspaper and magazine distributor, based in Swindon, England. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

History

WH Smith's HQ building in Swindon

W H Smith originated as a news vendor business established in London in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna. After their deaths, the business — valued in 1812 at £1,280 — was taken over by their son William Henry Smith, and in 1846 the firm became W H Smith & Son when his son, also William Henry, became a partner. The firm took advantage of the railway boom by opening newsstands on railway stations, starting with Euston in 1848. They also made use of the railways to become the leading national distributor of newspapers. The younger W H Smith used the success of the firm as a springboard into politics, becoming an MP in 1868 and serving as a minister in several Conservative governments. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the bookshop chain; for the businessman and politician of that name, see William Henry Smith. ... For other places with the same name, see Swindon (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... William Henry Smith (1792–1865) was an English businessman who founded the newsagent and bookselling firm of W H Smith. ... The Rt Hon. ... The Midland Railways London terminus at St Pancras. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street station in 1865. ... Euston station, also known as London Euston, is a major railway station to the north of central London and in the London Borough of Camden. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and is the second oldest extant political party in the world. ...

After the death of W H Smith the younger, his widow was created Viscountess Hambleden in her own right; their son inherited the business from his father and the Viscountcy from his mother. After the death of the second Viscount in 1928, the business was reconstituted as a limited company, in which his son, the third Viscount, owned all the ordinary shares. On the death of the third Viscount in 1948, the death duties were so severe that a public holding company had to be formed and shares sold to W H Smith staff and the public. A younger brother of the third Viscount remained chairman until 1972, but the Smith family's control slipped away, and the last family member left the board in 1996. Viscount Hambleden is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ... A viscount is a member of the European nobility, especially of France, and of the British peerage, where a viscount ranks above a baron, below an earl (a count in France), and corresponds in Britain to the Anglo-Saxon shire reeve. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Limited liability company. ...

In the late 1966, W H Smith originated a 9-digit code for uniquely referencing books, called Standard Book Numbering or SBN. It was adopted as international standard ISO 2108 in 1970, and was used until 1974, when it became the ISBN scheme. The International Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced is-ben), is a unique[1] identifier for books, intended to be used commercially. ...

WH Smith logo until the early 1990s, featuring the then-familiar 3D cube of letters.

From the 1970s, W H Smith began to expand into other areas of retail. W H Smith Travel operated from 1973 to 1991, The Do It All chain of DIY stores started with a 1979 acquisition, became a joint venture with Boots in 1990 and was sold in 1996. The upmarket bookshop chain Waterstone's, founded by former W H Smith executive Tim Waterstone in 1982, was bought in 1989 and sold in 1998. In 1986 W H Smith bought the Our Price music chain; in the 1990s it also bought other music retailers including the Virgin Group's smaller (non-Megastore) shops. Virgin Our Price was sold to Virgin Retail Group Ltd in 1998. Image File history File links WHSmith1. ... Image File history File links WHSmith1. ... Do It All is a former DIY chain originally created by WH Smith in 1979 when the company aquired a DIY chain. ... Boots is the dominant pharmacist chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country. ... Gower Street branch Waterstones Piccadilly branch, Europes largest bookshop Waterstones is a United Kingdom based chain of bookshops. ... Our Price was a chain of record stores in the United Kingdom from the 1970s until the late 1990s. ... The Virgin Group Ltd is a group of separately run companies that each use Virgin brand of English celebrity business tycoon Sir Richard Branson. ... Virgin Megastores is a chain of record shops scattered throughout the world, established by Richard Branson. ...

On April 18, 2007, the Post Office announced that 70 of its branches nationwide are to move into W H Smith stores by autumn 2008^[1]. The Post Office says all its services will continue to be available at W H Smith. April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ... Post Office Ltd (Welsh: Cyrchwr Codau Post) is a retail post office company in the United Kingdom that provides a wide range of products including postage stamps, welfare and banking to the public through its nationwide network of post office branches. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Expansion beyond England and Wales

England and Wales have always been W H Smith's home territory. However, in recent years the establishment of a significant retail presence in Northern Ireland and Scotland has seen the chain spread UK-wide. Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... This article is about the country. ... Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II...

W H Smith has also engaged in business outside the United Kingdom. Canadian operations began in 1950 and continued until 1989 (although the SmithBooks chain continued to operate there until the late 1990s when it was taken over by Chapters and a few stores still retain the name as of 2005); United States from 1985 until 2003; Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries acquired in 2001 were disposed of, as were those in Hong Kong (only in the Hong Kong International Airport) and Singapore, in 2004. The company retains one shop in the centre of Paris, France. Chapters old and new logos, respectively Chapters is a Big Box bookstore chain throughout Canada. ... Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH) (Chinese: 香港國際機場; Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 gwok3 zai3 gei1 coeng4; Mandarin Pinyin: ) is the principal airport in Hong Kong. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

Takeover of John Menzies

For many years, the main rival to both W H Smith's small railway-station outlets and their news distribution business was John Menzies. However, in 1998, W H Smith bought all retail outlets of Menzies (in a move in which John Menzies intended to concentrate on its distribution business). Since then nearly every large railway station in Britain has had a branch of W H Smith in it. John Menzies PLC is a Scottish business established in 1833. ...

This purchase also cleared the way for W H Smith's retail expansion into Scotland. Prior to the takeover, Menzies' larger Scottish stores (carrying a very similar range of products to High Street W H Smith stores elsewhere) dominated the market, and the latter's presence was minimal.

Takeover plans

In recent years W H Smith has had a series of problems: its retail side has had difficulties competing with specialist book and music chains on one side and large supermarkets on the other, while the distribution side had to back down from an exclusive distribution deal with Tesco after newspaper publishers threatened to cancel their distribution contracts. There was also a significant shortfall in the group's pension fund. The result was several years of poor financial performance, and a takeover bid by the Permira group, which fell through. The group has reacted to this by disposing of its overseas subsidiaries and its publishing business Hodder Headline, in order to concentrate on reforming its troubled core businesses. Exterior of a typical British supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) This Flagship Randalls store in Houston, Texas is an example of an upscale supermarket. ... Tesco plc is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. ... Permira is an international, private equity firm based in the United Kingdom. ... Hodder Headline is a British publishing company with a number of well-known imprints. ...

In the year to 31 August 2004 W H Smith plc had a turnover of £2,834 million, on which it made a pre-tax loss of £130 million, due to significant "exceptional items" and losses on the sales of subsidiaries. Disposals during the year reduced the group's net assets from £409 million to £256 million. At its December 2004 share price of around 323p, the company's market capitalisation was just under £600 million. August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up Turnover in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The net assets is sometimes the same as the net worth, or shareholders equity, assets minus liabilities. ... Market capitalization, often abbreviated to market cap, mkt. ...

Awards and prizes

W H Smith is the sponsor of the WH Smith Literary Award, which has been running since 1959 and is one of the most wide-ranging of literary prizes, admitting works of all genres from authors of all ages and both genders from across the world. W H Smith also sponsors the W H Smith Children's Book of the Year prize, which is part of the British Book Awards. In recent years it also ran the People's Choice Book Awards, though these were discontinued as the group slimmed down. The W H Smith Illustration Awards were awarded between 1987 and 1994. The WH Smith Literary Award is an award founded in 1959 by British high street retailer WH Smith. ... The British Book Awards are given annually and promoted by the UK publishing industry trade journal Publishing News. ...

W H Smith in British life

"Smith's" shops are a familiar sight on British high streets. Their book range is populist. Despite its former claim to be the "World's Best Booksellers", W H Smith has never sought to compete with specialist booksellers in the highbrow and academic markets (such as Blackwell's) or on depth in particular genres (except perhaps for railway-related books for enthusiasts in their railway station branches). Similarly their audio and video departments tend to concentrate on chart pop music and blockbuster films. On the other hand, their large shops typically offer a larger range of specialist magazines than most newsagents. Front of the original Blackwells bookshop. ...

For many years W H Smith's policy of not stocking the satirical magazine Private Eye, because of the company's fear of being held responsible for any libelous articles it might contain, led to the magazine stigmatising it as "The World's Worst Booksellers" and "W H Smugg". Their shops and distributors now carry the Eye. The original edition of The Life and Times of Private Eye, a compendium of Eye's first ten years, was edited by the publisher to remove a scurrilous item relating to W H Smith's, apparently to improve the chance that Smith's would stock the book. The ploy failed. Private eye may mean: Look up Private eye on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Private Eye a fortnightly British satirical magazine-newspaper, edited by Ian Hislop (as of 2005) A private investigator, a private detective for hire (see also crime fiction and detective fiction) Private Eye, a song by Alkaline Trio... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

Television

While possibly an odd choice of a medium for a book retailer, W H Smith founded two of the UK's earliest cable television channels, Lifestyle and Screensport through its WHSTV division, which were carried on close to every cable system in the UK and Ireland prior to the start of Sky Television. Both channels moved to the Astra 1A satellite used by Sky in 1991 and later floundered due to the increased cable competition. Screensport merged with Eurosport at its relaunch as part of the TF1 Group, and Lifestyle was closed down. Original Screensport Logo Newer Screensport Logo, used from 1991 until the channel was closed down in 1993 by new owners, Eurosport Screensport was a pan-European sports television channel. ... link titlelink titleThe name Sky Television may refer to: British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in the United Kingdom SKY Network Television in New Zealand This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Astra 1A was the first satellite launched and operated by Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), now SES Astra. ... Eurosport is the largest European sports satellite and cable network available in 54 countries and broadcasting in 18 different languages. ... TF1 is a private French TV network, controlled by the Bouygues group. ...

References

1. ^ In-store post offices at WH Smith — BBC News, 19 April 2007.

The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ...

External links

• W H Smith plc corporate website
• WHSmith.co.uk (retail site)
• News distribution website
• WHSmith recruitment website
• WHSmith English-language bookshop in Paris
• W H Smith tries to tempt browsers — Guardian story from July 2004 on the company's recovery plans