As part of a recent 10-year agreement, WH Smith now houses over 61 Post Office branches in their retail stores and currently runs 107 Post Office branches in its stores, with about half of these concessions run by the Post Office.
The retailer announces an 11% increase in half-year pre-tax profits to £80m and its plans to move some of the 39 directly-run Crown branches into franchises by January 2017. Post Office CEO Paula Vennells said: "We know that people place huge importance on the presence of a Post Office branch on their High Street.
"Our collaboration with WH Smith will help to secure this, as well as bring new investment into the network."
The Post Office’s Crown branch network’s general manager, Roger Gale, is extremely pleased with the benefits WH Smith franchises has brought to their network, including better customer services and extended opening hours.
"The vast majority of the Post Office's network of 11,500 Post Office branches is already run on a franchise or agency basis," he said.
"Crown branches are still run by directly by the Post Office but factors such as high property costs and changing customer habits mean we have to consider new ways to provide our services in some locations."
It has been a match made in heaven with first half earning driven by outstanding performances from its High Street and travel divisions, showing steady sales. WH Smith leading chief executive Stephen Clarke calls it "our best performance for many years".
The Editorial Team, Point Franchise ©
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