page_title: WHSmith
section_title: United Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: WHSmith / Operations / United Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: English: Interior of WH Smith, Market Place, Pontefract, West Yorkshire. The post office is to shortly move into the back of WH Smiths as is happening in many towns.
context_page_description: WHSmith PLC is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, entertainment products and confectionery.
  The company was formed by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in 1792 as a news vendor in London. It remained under the ownership of the Smith family for many years and saw large-scale expansion during the 1970s as the company began to diversify into other markets. Following a rejected private equity takeover in 2004, the company began to focus on its core retail business. It was the first retail chain in the world, and was responsible for the creation of the ISBN book identifier.
  WHSmith is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It celebrated its 225th anniversary in 2017.
context_section_description: Since 2007, the company has taken on a number of Post Office branches, mainly within its high street shops. By April 2016, this had reached 107, including former Crown Post Offices, with plans for an additional 61.
  WHSmith also operate a number of shops within hospitals, following its acquisition of Yorkshire-based newsagent chain United News in March 2008.
  In addition to its existing joint ventures and franchise shops, the company trialed the smaller format, convenience-based WHSmith Local concept during 2013. Targeted at independent newsagents and post office business owners, a total of 40 such stores were trading and a further 40 planned by the time the 2015 annual report had been published.
  Since 2011, the company has also opened shops under its Funky Pigeon brand, offering stationery and personalised greetings cards.
caption: Interior of a branch in Pontefract, West Yorkshire seen in 2019.
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