WH Smith boss Stephen Clarke bites back over 'worst shop' claim

The boss of WH Smith on Wednesday hit out at claims that the bookshop-cum-stationery chain is the worst shop on the High Street.

The grim verdict came from Which? — a website that routinely reviews products and services. It conducted an online survey in which more than 10,000 people rated 100 retailers but in different categories.

Chief executive Stephen Clarke said: “It’s not very scientific — 184 people? We serve millions of customers.”

Just 2% of those surveyed — or 184 people — expressed a view on WH Smith.

The retailer’s travel business continued to thrive as more passengers stocked up on food, with same-store sales up 3% for the 13 weeks to June 2, while same-store sales on the High Street declined 1%.

However, this is a significant improvement on the 4% fall in the first half of the year. Shares were up 5.5%, or 110p, to 2086p.

Clarke is banking on pens, pads and paper, which have better margins than newspapers or magazines, to boost its High Street revenues as well as opening stores in airports and train stations apace.

He insisted he wasn’t planning on shutting shops in city centres, despite a challenging environment for retailers.

“We don’t have a long list of unprofitable stores,” he added.