Harrogate shop faces uncertain future as famous national brand gets set to sell 500 stores
The future of one of Harrogate’s best-known shops – and the town centre’s only remaining Post Office – is uncertain after its parent company announced it was in talks to sell its high street stores.
Located in Victoria Shopping Centre on Cambridge Street after it moved in 1992 from the corner of Oxford Street and Parliament Street, it's one of 500 shops the famous magazine and stationery brand is looking to off load as the decline of the high street sector across Britain continues.
Not only is this a worrying moment for staff but the Harrogate branch has also been home to the town centre’s last Post Office since it relocated from Cambridge Road in 2019.
Harrogate will be hoping W H Smith can avoid the fate of other famous names such as Debenhams and Woolworths which have disappeared in the last 20 years.
WH Smith’s high street operation, which employs around 5,000 people nationwide, is made up of around 500 shops, the first of which was opened 230 years ago.
Revenue from WH Smith's high street stores dropped by £17m in 2024 compared with the year before but profits stayed the same after the business closed 14 of its stores last year.
The retailer said it had become a “focused global travel retailer” over the past decade.
Its travel business – which operates in airports and rail stations - now has more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries, providing three-quarters of group revenue and 85% of trading profit.
Importantly for Harrogate, around 200 of its stores also have a Post Office counter which are staffed by WH Smith employees.
Commenting on the future of those counters, the Post Office said it is in contact with WH Smith "to understand more about their plans for their high street stores".
WH Smith was valued at £1.5bn last week - the value of the entire group.
Speaking after WH Smith's most recent financial results, group chief executive Carl Cowling said: "Our UK high street business continued to deliver its strategy of managing space to maximise returns and maintaining a flexible cost structure."