WH Smith says goodbye after 200 years as shoppers furious over rebrand
Everyone is saying the same thing as WH Smith will soon be an iconic High Street logo of the past, and a new name will take over. After 233 years of being a staple in British town and city centres, WH Smith has been sold to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital. The sale, agreed in March – initially valuing the high street chain at £76million – will see the iconic logo scrapped from the High Street, and many shoppers are not happy.
Like many other retailers, the beloved stationary brand has suffered on the back of the rising cost of living crisis as well as Covid-19. People previously said they were"not surprised" by the move after noticing prices hike up in stores - leaving them put off from shopping.
The retailer, which opened its first store in 1792, had been slowly c losing high street locations over the last few months. This includes nine shops this year, in locations including Basingstoke, Winton, Rhyl, and Bolton. Now, all the approximately 480 stores and 5,000 staff working for the high street businesses will move under Modella Capital's ownership.
Plus, the stores are due to rebrand as TGJones, the company revealed. After a video of was shared on WHSmith's social media sites last night, fans rushed to share their honest opinions on the rebrand. The nostalgic video showcases how much the WH Smith brand has changed over the past two centuries. @whsmithofficial wrote: "After 200 years, today we say goodbye to our High Street business."
The brand added: "We're proud to have been a part of the UK high street, working alongside many fantastic colleagues. But today, we're a global travel retailer who serves customers on the go from stores across the world. So now is the right time for the High Street business to move forward under new owners."
The post concluded: "A massive thank you to all our customers and colleagues for your support over the years. See you on your next journey soon!"
What is replacing the WH Smith brand?
After tagging the new brand, TGJones in the post, it appears that the iconic blue and white WH Smith colours will still be used in the logo. On the TGJones TikTok page, its bio reads: "New name. New vibe. Still can't shut up about books and other stuff."
Despite this, fans are not happy. Commenting on the WHSmith goodbye video, one individual said: "Yeah, you've just killed the whole business mate. Nobody is going to TGJones."
"Who the hell is TG Jones," commented another. While one other insisted: "The new logo and name is horrific. I will not be popping into TGJones for stamps."
Another questioned: "No sorry, what type of name is TGJones"
Someone else joked: "I don't think whoever came up with TGJones ever said the name out loud.."
One other insisted: "Nobody is going to call it that though, we're all going to call it Smiths still."
WH Smith memories
Feeling sad about the loss of WHSmith, one individual wrote: "New generation will never experience the feeling of going to WHSmith in your Year 6 summer holidays and building a pencil case from scratch and picking all your stationary for Year 7."
Another added: "I did my school shopping every year at WHSmith since reception, same with my sister too, this is so sad."
While someone else wrote: "My parents met working at WHSmith and they've been married 30 years."
Another shared: "This is heartbreaking. My first job was at WHSmith and I loved it - it's the staple of the high street and I still pop in. Goodbye and thank you WHSmith."
Where you will still find the WHSmith logo
As explained in the post, you will still see the WH Smith logo in airports. One said: "You'll still have the WHSmith name in airports, so it's not the end of the world."
Someone else insisted: "Just means I'll have to go on more holidays so I can get my WHSmith fix at the airport."
After one individual said, "such a shame all these places are disappearing," WH Smith confirmed: "We'll still be in all of our travel locations within airport, rail stations and hospitals."
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