WH Smith Travel Retail rebrands in New Zealand

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All three Whitcoulls bookshops at Auckland International airport have been recreated as WH Smith stores following the UK group's acquisition of Whitcoulls, along with Bennetts bookshops and the Australian Angus & Robertson chain from Blue Star Group last year (TRW 19/06/01)

The Wellington airport outlet is also to be rebranded early next year.

Whitcoulls managing director Ian Draper said changing the brand in airport stores was part of an international strategy in travel locations, not the first wave of a domestic market rebranding of the Whitcoulls name, known in New Zealand since 1882. But he said Whitcoulls will still supply the new WH Smith airport stores with product.  

Despite their small size the Auckland airport outlets have been completely refurbished with a new look and layout in line with WH Smith internationally. "There's a standard cookie-cut format that we've taken from the UK travel business," Draper said.

The WH Smith Asian division is run as a separate entity with a head office in Melbourne, 200 stores and 2,500 employees in the region. The company announced earlier this year it planned to expand in Australia, first taking a toehold with shops in Sydney airport, followed by trial stores in downtown Sydney and Canberra.