High-street retailer WH Smith is to open 20 Costa Coffee concessions in stores around the UK in an effort to woo back customers.
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| Costa: branching out |
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Stores testing the concept will include Reading, Chester, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Thurrock, York, Cambridge, Ipswich, Sheffield (Meadowhall), Bath (Union Street), Birmingham, Swansea, Bluewater, Peterborough, Bristol (The Galleries), Manchester (Arndale), Kingston upon Thames, Watford Harlequin, Brent Cross and Gateshead’s Metro Centre.
WH Smith has in recent years found itself being squeezed by supermarkets and other more specialist retailers, and has been looking at how it might better use the space in its stores.
The concessions will start appearing over the next couple of months and if successful could be extended across the chain.
Costa, part of the Whitbread group, also has stores within branches of high-street bank Abbey, although it recently closed eight of these outlets.
It has further concessions with retailers including Homebase and Ottakers.
by Nic Paton
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