WH Smith... The Pros And Cons

Iceman_5000

Hello,

So i'm doing a SWOT analysis on WH Smith and i would like some customer feedback from people who have used WH Smith espically the online site.

I would like to the the strenghts and weakness of the company so a short list of the advantages and disadvantages that you think the company has would be great. e.g. The layout of the shop could be better c.ds up stairs or better laid out website etc

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers

eth0_

They're a British shop and they don't ship to Ireland, what makes you think anyone here will have used them?

parsi

Possibly because some of our Northern brethern may use the site ?

Slice

Boards seems to be strangely devoid of northerners it seems.

As for WH Smiths - familiar with it from living in the UK. I'd sooner go to a proper bookshop for books as their range is limited and since most UK newsagents stock just as extensive a range of magazines as WH Smiths it doesn't really have any advantages there either. The only thing it's good for is stationary or greeting cards but there is competion in both areas that offer a wider range - such as Rymans or Hallmarks.

r3nu4l

Well, living in England I can say I rarely visit WH Smith. I just don't like the shop, it's a bit like Woolworths in that I get the impression that the shop doesn't know what it wants to be.

They sell, books, stationary, newspapers and magazines, CD's, DVD's, toys, games, etc. but at the end of the day they don't provide any really good bargains. The layout of their shops is not very good either.

I usually visit the one in Cambridge but only to go to the Costa coffee shop upstairs. Stopping at Costa doesn't make me want to buy anything in WH Smith though.

I'm happy to answer any more questions or complete a questionaire if you like, just give me a PM or post on-thread if the mods are okay with that

chasm

I used to shop in WHSmith in england quite a bit, but as stated above they do not offer any really good bargains.
If i recall correctly it was a WHSmith i went to in stansted airport(beside arrivals in the main area), and i was gasping for a smoke. I had to pay £1.30 for a lighter! Daylight robbery. Then i had to give it in at customs-was not in good mood i can tell you.

magnumlady

I used to use WH Smith when I lived in the UK, they were OK, although sometimes more expensive then other shops.
I was sent a voucher as a gift once, couldn't order online because they wouldn't ship here and they weren't at all helpful when I explained the situation.