STATIONER WHSmith will shut two stores this weekend as the historic chain continues to disappear from British high streets.
The sites in Halesowen in the West Midlands and Diss in will their doors for the last time on Saturday.
The will close up to 20 stores in the coming weeks after it agreed to.
The latest round of kicked off last weekend when sites in Halstead, Essex, and Woolwich, London, shut their doors.
Huge sales have been launched across the stores set to close, with both Diss and Halesowen having cut prices by as much as 75%.
The shuttering of shops follows theto Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital.
Itwill see the WHSmith name disappear from the high street completely, although it has retained its outlets in locations.
The closure of six further sites in April, May and July has been confirmed and more could join them.
Those confirmed so far are:
- Halstead, – April 12
- Woolwich, – April 12
- Halesowen, – April 19
- Diss, – April 19
- Newport, – April 26
- Haverhill, – April 26
- Oldham, Greater – May 3
- Stockton, County Durham – May 17
- West Mall, Frenchgate Centre – May 31
- Bedford, – July 5
Tenhad already closed, before the announcement of the latest round of closures.
They were:
- Bournemouth Old Christchurch Road,
- Luton, Bedfordshire
- March,
- Basingstoke,
- Long Eaton
- Newtown, Powys
- Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset
- Rhyl, Denbighshire
- Bolton, Greater Manchester
- Accrington,
The end of WHSmith on the high street
The closures mark the beginning of the end of WHSmith's 233-year stint on the high street.
Earlier this year, it put its as it focuses instead on its more profitable arm.
Its remaining 480 high street stores were snapped up by Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital last month as part of a £76million deal.
The move saved the jobs of roughly 5,000 employees.
However, the famous WHSmith name is set to disappear from the high street as the shops will be gradually rebranded to TGJones.
WHSmith stores will remain in, train stations and hospitals, and the retailer is planning to expand its travel arm.
The brand opened its first shop in 1792 in Little Grosvenor Street, London and went on to become the UK's main newspaper distributor.
High street struggles
It's been a tough year for the high street with both established chains and independents shuttering up sites across the country.
Earlier this week confirmed the closure of its MargateHigh Street store, making it the sixth to be shuttered by the brand this year.
On the same day fashion retailer said it's branch in Salisbury, Wiltshire would close from Monday.
The store will be among several affected following the company’s financial restructuring.
The closures are just the latest after retailers suffered several bruising years following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rising costs, a shift to online shopping and a dip in consumer confidence have all impacted retailers, with even established names shuttering sites.
Well-known brands such as and Paperchase have collapsed, while many others continue to scale back operations in a bid to reduce costs.
was sold out of administration and has seen many stores close.
While is set to shut ten stores in the coming weeks as part of wider plans to reduce its UK portfolio by 300 sites.
Meanwhile has confirmed it will shut down 50 stores next year.
The retailer, which has 4,850 stores across 36 countries, has not confirmed how many of the closures will be in the UK.
And major charity retailer is also set to close a total of 50 stores.
Some 43 Scope stores are set to close between now and March 31, 2026, while a further four will shut in the 2026/27 financial year.
Others to have shuttered stores or announced closures for 2025 include fashion retailer Monki, Co-op, and Millets.
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