No joke for WH Smith as fad for spoof books goes out of fashion

SALES at WH Smith sunk after shoppers fell out of love with fads for grown-up Ladybird books and colouring-in.

The High Street chain saw sales fall 1pc over Christmas as no new trends emerged.

Booksellers had seen sales leap as titles such as Penguin’s Five on Brexit Island and The Ladybird Book of Mindfulness struck gold. But Stephen Clarke, chief executive at WH Smith, said: ‘Book sales were more challenging due to the decline in spoof humour titles and no new, big publishing trends.’

Online shopping also hit the 226-year-old newsagent as High Street sales fell by 4pc, while its stores in airports attracted a 3pc boost.

Over 50pc of sales and almost two-thirds of profits now come from the travel business. Overall, like-for-like sales fell 1pc in the 20 weeks to January 20.