WHSmith PLC  |. Retail & Travel  |. Brand Strategy & Identity  |. 2025

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A data-led brand strategy for one of Britain's most iconic retailers. Market analysis, audience segmentation, brand mission, and a visual identity refresh that honoured 230 years of heritage while rebuilding the distinctiveness and trust the brand had been losing. Tagline: Trusted Quality, Every Time.

 

 

The challenge

Adidas doesn't have a creativity problem. They have a scale problem.

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WHSmith has been a fixture of British life for over 230 years — books, stationery, convenience, always there when you need it. But trust built over generations does not protect a brand from decline. Between 2022 and 2024, WHSmith's market capitalisation fell from £2.15bn to £1.75bn — a 15% drop in two years. The data told a story the brand couldn't ignore.

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The problems were structural and visible. Store environments were widely perceived as cluttered and outdated. The online proposition was attracting consistent negative reviews, with customers citing a confusing and frustrating e-commerce experience. And a recent rebranding attempt had backfired publicly — the new identity drew widespread criticism for its resemblance to the NHS brand, sparking social media backlash and deepening the sense of a brand disconnected from its own audience.

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WHSmith didn't need a cosmetic fix. It needed a brand strategy that could honour 230 years of heritage while making the brand feel relevant, trustworthy, and distinctively itself again.

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