WH Smith made a bold move into the US on Tuesday, snapping up phone accessories retailer InMotion for £155 million in cash.
That doubles the size of WH Smith’s international travel business at a stroke and sees the company return to America for the first time since the Nineties. Shares rose 5% to 1823p.
City analysts say it is also a clear sign that the travel arm, not the High street, will be the driver for future growth. Smiths already has 300 shops in 52 airports and 28 countries outside the UK.
InMotion is the largest airport-based accessories retailer in North America, with 750 staff and 114 stores across 43 airports in the US.
Chief executive Stephen Clarke said: “The acquisition of InMotion is an exciting value-creation opportunity for the WH Smith group and marks a major step in our international travel retail growth strategy.”
He added: “InMotion provides us with a scalable platform to launch the WH Smith airport format into the US, the world’s largest travel retail market for news, books and convenience products.”
WH Smith has been under pressure, facing restructuring costs for closing stores. The travel arm has enjoyed 10 years of profit growth.
