Home > Latest News > WH Smith To Sell Vinyl Records Again

WH Smith To Sell Vinyl Records Again

Vinyl LPs are returning to the shelves of a major global retailer, but it’s unclear whether Australia will be included in the roll out that has kicked off in WHSmith’s UK stores. 

WHSmith, which has an extensive store network in Australia at airports and train stations, will be stocking vinyl at 80 stores in the UK initially, decades after it pivoted away from vinyl to CDs.

The retail chain – which is already selling vinyl online – said its stores, including York, Canterbury and Edinburgh, in the UK will stock a selection of chart hits and classic albums on vinyl.

“After thirty years vinyl is back at WH Smith,” said Emma Smyth, commercial director at WHSmith High Street. “I’m sure there are many customers out there who remember spending hours in record shops browsing the latest vinyl LPs and the artistic record covers.

“To me it’s no surprise that vinyl is growing in popularity again, and we are very excited to be bringing back record selections …”

WHSmith was founded in 1792, and it has more than 1,700 stores worldwide.

The company is divided into two core businesses – WHSmith High Street and WHSmith Travel. 

WHSmith Melbourne T3. Image: GS Projects/Facebook.

The Travel side of the business has 750 stores globally and sells newspapers, magazines, books and “impulse products”. The stores are positioned at airports, and bus and railway stations.

The High Street stores sell stationery, news, books and impulse products. 

In Australia WHSmith operates Travel stores out of airports, and also WHSmith Food, which has over 30 locations in hospitals and airports around Australia under brands including  Fresh+, Doctors Orders, Long Shot and The Food Depot.

In 2018 WHSmith acquired InMotion, the large airport-based technology retailer in North America.

InMotion.

There are now three InMotion stores in Australia, at domestic airport terminals on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne and Perth.

InMotion sells in-house products alongside stock from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Bose, JBL, Sony and Sennheiser.

WHSmith also owns Supanews convenience retail outlets in the ACT, NSW and QLD.

ChannelNews has sought comment from WHSmith regarding any plans to release vinyl LPs in Australia.

In 2023 sales of vinyl records in Australia grew by 14 per cent to $42 million, a modest slice of overall music sales of $676 million, the majority of which was paid to streaming services.



You may also like
Toys ‘R’ Us Plans “Experiential Retail Centre” In Victoria

Popular Posts

‘Can You Describe What You See Ahead?’ Google Maps, Waze Integrate Gemini AI
Latest News
/
/
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 (Image: Supplied by Samsung)
Will Samsung Drop Its ‘Galaxy’ Branding For The S25 Series?
Latest News
/
/
Wesfarmers Defends Big Profit, Says Pollies Should Show Some Love
Latest News
/
/
Intel
Struggling Intel Hints At Turnaround With Optimistic Forecast
Latest News
/
/
Easy Streaming Revenue Pours In At Universal Music
Latest News
/
/

Digital Magazines

Recent Post

‘Can You Describe What You See Ahead?’ Google Maps, Waze Integrate Gemini AI
Latest News
/
//
Comments are Off
The data is mind-boggling. Every month, around two billion people on the planet use Google Maps – for work, play,...
Read More