WHSmith High Street sale good news for publishers?

By John Freeman on March 29, 2025 • ( 1 )

The sale of WHSmith High Street to Modella Capital could be good news for publishers of comic and magazines, perhaps restoring them to stronger positioning in stores.

WHSmith High Street | Image: WHSmith — *Image: WHSmith*

As we reported yesterday, WHSmith has agreed to sell its high street business to Modella Capital, the owner of Hobbycraft, which it bought last year.

Modella’s other recent acquisitions include the Lakeland retail brand and The Original Factory Shop, the latter bought in February.

downthetubes understands at least one distributor of comics and magazines to WHSmith feels the change will be a good opportunity for publishers, who have seen shelf space for publications increasingly squeezed in recent years, reducing their visibility – and sales.

While many publishers have grown their subscription offer in response to market changes in recent years, facing competition from online reading, WHSmith High Street stores remain a major “try before you buy” opportunity to grow readership which recent WHSmith positioning changes in-store has damaged.

As of November 2022, the pre-teens section of WHSmith Lancaster has been squeezed into one small section of the store — *By November 2022, the pre-teens section of WHSmith Lancaster had been squeezed into one small section of the store*

The company began relegating newspapers and magazines away from prime front of store positions in its 580 “Travel UK” stores, which WHSmith will retain, extending the policy to high street stores.

One independent comics publisher commented of the practice this week, “They pack them so tight it’s not worth the 50%+ cover charge they and distributors charge. At least in supermarkets and convenience stores shelves have been cut by a big margin but they still show the covers!”

Modella Capital, the new owner of WHSmith High Street’s 480 stores, which will be renamed TG Jones, specialises in high street retail and has indicated that there are potential opportunities for further store growth, either through new locations or by integrating their products into other stores within the Modella portfolio.

We understand Modella Capital consider magazines a core category and there are no plans to change this.

The separation from WHSmith PLC will allow TG Jones stores to drive footfall through competitive pricing on the high street. By boosting footfall through promotions in impulse categories, there should be opportunities to improve magazine sales.

Modella Capital bought Hobbycraft last year, the largest arts and crafts retailer in the UK, with more than 2000 staff, 124 stores, and over seven million Hobbycraft Club members.

Although some stores have closed in recent years, The Original Factory Shop, founded in 1969, still has over 160 stores nationwide, in addition to its online operations.

• Read our news story: High street WHSmith sold to owner of Hobbycraft

• Read our previous news feature on WHSmith High Street, published in January – “WHSmith confirms planned sell off of high street stores – Modella Capital, Alteri, Hilco vying to buy?”

• City News: WHSmith’s decline: A cautionary tale of bad branding by Will Bosanko

(Link added Monday 7th April 2025): As WHSmith disappears from the high street, Will Bosanko looks at why the brand failed, and asks whether there is a future for TG Jones

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.