WHSmith PLC (also known as WHS or colloquially as Smith’s, and formerly W. H. Smith & Son) 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.
Traded as: LSE: SMWH
Industry: Retail
Founded: 1792; 228 years ago in London, England
Founder: Henry Walton Smith, William Henry Smith
Headquarters: Swindon, United Kingdom
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