Name

Whsmith Australia

Legal name

WH Smith Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://whsmith.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

WHSmith Australia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WHSmith plc operating 80+ captive-location retail and food-and-beverage stores across Australian airports, hospitals and railway stations, serving travellers, hospital staff, patients and visitors through a portfolio of 12+ brands including WHSmith, InMotion, Kids Stop, The Book Cellar, and the WHSmith FOOD café brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Retail

NAICS

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Retail-Variety Stores (5331)

akta.pro primary industry

Foodservice & Specialty Food Store-in-Store (CRAGAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Home & Kitchen Value Variety Stores (Small Housewares & Décor) (CRAEAGAH)

Keywords

• Travel retail stores
• Airport retail outlets
• Hospital café services
• Convenience store retail
• Travel electronics retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Woolloomooloo

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales: WHSmith generates revenue through the sale of books, news, convenience items, confectionery, digital and travel accessories, and children's products across its store network in airports and hospitals.
2. Food and Beverage Sales: WHSmith Food brands (Fresh+, Long Shot, Market Kitchen, Doctors Orders, The Food Depot, Stop 72, Soho) generate revenue through café, coffee, and fresh food sales to hospital staff, patients, visitors, and airport travelers.

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

WHSmith Australia operates a multi-brand network of physical retail storefronts in captive travel and healthcare locations, primarily Australian airports, hospitals, and railway stations. The company sells books, news, confectionery, convenience items, travel accessories, and electronics under the core WHSmith and InMotion brands, and operates a portfolio of hospital and airport cafés (Fresh+, Long Shot, Market Kitchen, Doctors Orders, Stop 72, The Food Depot, Soho) under WHSmith FOOD. Additional concepts include The Book Cellar (books plus gourmet café-bar) and Kids Stop (children's books, toys and gifts).

Product overview

WHSmith Australia is a multi-brand retail and hospitality operator serving travelling customers. The core WHSmith brand provides convenience, books, news and travel accessories at airports, hospitals and railway stations. The WHSmith FOOD portfolio encompasses multiple café and food brands (Fresh+, Long Shot, Market Kitchen, Stop 72, Doctors Orders, The Food Depot, Soho, Smith's Family Kitchen) serving hospital and airport communities with fresh, made-on-site meals. Supporting brands include InMotion (digital/electronics accessories), The Book Cellar (books and gourmet food combined with café-bar), and Kids Stop (children's books, toys and gifts). The business operates over 80 stores across Australia, with a focus on convenience retail for travellers in transit locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• InMotion: Digital and travel accessories brand offering electronics including headphones, speakers, portable power and mobile accessories. Acquired in 2018, operating over 120 stores globally across US, UK, Spain, and Australia.
• Fresh+
• Long Shot
• Market Kitchen
• Doctors Orders
• The Food Depot
• Stop 72
• SOHO Espresso
• Smith's Family Kitchen
• The Book Cellar
• Kids Stop

Products and services

• WHSmith Core retail brand offering convenience, books, news, confectionery, digital and travel accessories to travellers at airports, railway stations, and hospitals across Australia. Designed as a one-stop shop for food, drink and travel essentials in transit environments.
• WHSmith FOOD Umbrella portfolio of food and beverage brands serving fresh, made-on-site meals to hospital staff, patients, visitors, and airport travellers across Australia since 2005. Includes Fresh+, Long Shot, Market Kitchen, Doctors Orders, Stop 72, The Food Depot, Soho, and Smith's Family Kitchen.
• Long Shot Specialty coffee brand working with suppliers to source single-origin coffee beans from around the world, rotating origins weekly. Operates as Long Shot Café & Bar within The Book Cellar and at standalone hospital locations.
• InMotion Digital and travel accessories retail brand offering headphones, wireless earbuds, speakers, portable power banks, and mobile accessories from brands such as Apple, Samsung, Bose, JBL, Sony, and Sennheiser. Operates 8+ Australian airport locations as part of a 120+ global store footprint.
• The Book Cellar Premium concept store at Gold Coast Airport combining a curated book range with gourmet food (Burleigh Heads' Golosi Food Emporium providore), Long Shot Café & Bar, and a café-bar experience.
• Kids Stop Children's retail concept at airports offering children's books, toys, gifts, games, gadgets, snacks, and treats designed to keep young travellers entertained during flights.
• Fresh+ Hospital café brand serving fresh, made-on-site meals and refreshments to hospital staff, patients, and visitors at campuses including Blacktown, Kempsey, Lismore, Logan, Lyell McEwin, Port Macquarie, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
• Market Kitchen Vibrant all-day eatery concept inspired by bustling food markets, located at The Alfred Hospital, delivering fresh made-to-order meals from morning to evening with seasonal menus in a modern open setting.
• Doctors Orders High-volume coffee house and fresh food hub at Gold Coast University Hospital, serving over 1,000 coffees daily with catering services to multiple hospitals.
• Stop 72 Modern café concept tailored for The Alfred Hospital, serving quality espresso and wholesome meals fast with calming design touches as a daily sanctuary within the hospital.
• The Food Depot Full-line café concept used in larger hospitals, adapted for modern hospital café design and technology requirements.
• SOHO Espresso

Quantifiable outcome

• Doctors Orders at Gold Coast University Hospital serves over 1,000 coffees daily.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Save the ChildrenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHSmith Australia partnered with Save the Children to 're-write the stores for Children across Australia,' celebrating the company's 225th anniversary. The partnership aims to ensure vulnerable and marginalised children in Australia have access to quality education.
• Sydney WorldPride 2023minorGTM or Marketing PartnerWHSmith Australia announced support as a partner for Sydney WorldPride 2023.
• Red Cross Disaster Relief and RecoveryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIn January 2020, WHSmith Australia donated all trade profits to the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery fund to support bushfire relief efforts.
• Golosi Food EmporiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Book Cellar at Gold Coast Airport features a gourmet providore in partnership with Burleigh Heads' Golosi Food Emporium, showcasing local and international fine food and gifts alongside books.
• Seven Miles CoffeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Book Cellar's Long Shot Café & Bar serves coffee from Seven Miles' Cats Pyjamas blend.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Paradies Lagardère: North American airport retail and F&B operator with news, gift, specialty and dining concepts; analogous to WHSmith's multi-format airport strategy in another geography.
• Avolta (formerly Dufry): World's largest travel-retail operator (duty-free, food, convenience, specialty) with presence across major Australian airports; competes with WHSmith for both retail and F&B concessions.
• SSP Group: Operates branded F&B outlets (cafés, bars, restaurants) in airports and hospitals globally — most comparable to WHSmith's WHSmith FOOD hospital-café portfolio and Long Shot coffee concept.
• Lagardère Travel Retail: Global travel-retail operator and parent of Relay, with F&B, duty-free and convenience concepts across airports worldwide; competes with WHSmith across multiple Australian and international concession tenders.
• WH Smith Travel (UK parent operations): The UK-listed parent WHSmith plc operates travel retail under the same brand globally; the Australian entity is wholly-owned by it and shares identical brand, format, and supplier infrastructure.
• Gebr. Heinemann: Major European travel retailer with duty-free, convenience and news/gift concepts across airports and border crossings; competes with WHSmith in international concession tenders.

Others

• DFS Group (LVMH): World-leading airport duty-free retailer owned by LVMH; an adjacent peer that shares airport concession economics but operates in the duty-free category where WHSmith does not directly compete.

Direct peers

• Relay (Lagardère Travel Retail): Operates airport newsstands and convenience stores globally selling books, press, snacks, gifts and travel essentials — the closest direct functional competitor to WHSmith's core travel-convenience proposition in airport terminals.
• Hudson (Avolta): Largest airport newsstand/convenience retailer in North America, offering books, snacks, travel accessories and electronics across 1,000+ travel locations; competes head-to-head with WHSmith/InMotion for the travelling-customer wallet.
• Newslink: Australian-headquartered airport newsstand and convenience retailer operating across major domestic airports; competes directly with WHSmith for airport news/book/convenience contracts in Australia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whsmith-australia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Whsmith Australia