WHSmith expands Southeast Asia retail footprint

International news, books and convenience retail operator WHSmith has further expanded its presence in Southeast Asia by opening its first stores in the Philippines alongside extending its retail coverage in Indonesia and Malaysia.

In Indonesia, WHSmith has secured three stores at Jakarta’s terminal three. The stores will be operated by its local franchisee, KPU; a subsidiary of the Indonesian Listed company PT Sona Topas. Once the first store is inaugurated, two further stores will be opened when the terminal construction is completed in the coming months. Covering over 400,000sq m, T3 is one of the largest in Southeast Asia.

In the Philippines, WHSmith has recently opened the second of its stores at Manila Ninoy Aquino International airport, following the opening of its first Philippine store at Cebu Mactan International airport. Manila is the largest airport in the Philippines. With over 36 million passengers using the airport annually, it is a top 40 global airport. With 8 million passengers forecast in 2016, Cebu is the second largest airport in the Philippines.

Regent Travel Retail is currently working under a franchise agreement with WHSmith and has created a management team to ensure the smooth running of the stores. , Regent Travel Retail General Manager Joey Esteban said: “Regent is pleased to be opening its first WHSmith stores in Cebu and Manila in partnership with WHSmith. It is an important milestone in our development of the brand in the Philippines.”

In Malaysia, WHSmith has opened a WHSmith Express format store in Kuala Lumpur’s Terminal 1 Satellite building. There are now nine WHSmith stores in four Malaysia airports, under a joint venture with Bison consolidated.