Mystery over future of Oban’s WHSmith

The future of Oban’s WHSmith store is unknown after company boss Stephen Clarke announced that some shops will shut down.

Most of the affected stores will be part of its Cardmarket budget chain, while the others to go will be those which are not making money.

A WHSmith spokesperson said shops earmarked for closure are not going to be revealed until their leases expire, with the earliest being in three years.

‘Over the year, WHSmith will be opening more stores than it is closing. Across the business we will continue to create jobs, employing more people next year than this year.

‘We are not announcing the six stores we have earmarked for closure in yesterday’s statement as they will close at different times as and when their leases expire – the earliest of these will be in 2021,’ said the spokesperson.

WHSmith would not confirm how many jobs would be affected. The company said staff would probably be redeployed to other stores as the chain continued to open new outlets in hospitals, airports and other travel hubs.