Last week it was reported that up to 150 former WHSmith stores were set to shut, while rent cuts would apply to most of its remaining sites, as its owner Modella Capital won approval for a major restructuring of its estate.
The private equity firm blamed “challenging retail conditions” for the restructuring, claiming that its plans were vital for the survival of its business, the BBC reported.
The High Court heard at the time that TGJones was on the brink of insolvency and would face a cash shortfall of almost £8 million by the end of the week without the restructuring plan.
However, the move places pressure on hundreds of jobs in the business, and has left some town centres with the loss of a retail stalwart of the high street.
It comes after private equity firm Modella Capital snapped up WHSmith’s high street business in 2025, leading to the creation of TGJones.
With the new TGJones name having raised eyebrows at the time of the acquisition, the recent news asks further questions of what’s next for the future of the high street chain.
TGJones currently trades from 451 stores, with the majority of these based across the UK.
However, the overhaul means around one in three of its shops could vanish as the company attempts to remove loss-making stores, reduce its rent bill and rebuild its remaining business around a smaller, more profitable estate.
TGJones has struggled to stabilise after its acquisition by Modella, as it grapples with weak consumer spending, growing costs and the challenge of replacing the famous WHSmith name.
CEO and co-founder of AI operating system firm Finmile Rich Pleeth believes that TGJones is “going to struggle to survive in any meaningful way”.
“The 150 closures were inevitable because the high street WHSmith estate had been under pressure for years, and the rebrand inherited a business already in decline,” he says.
“The name change made it harder as WHSmith had huge recognition, TGJones has had to start again with the same tired stores, unclear proposition and weak in store experience.
“Retail can survive when it gives customers a reason to visit, TGJones has not yet shown what that reason is.”
Repositioning rather than shrinking
Retail director of software firm UiPath Catherine Frame also says that moving forward, TGJones stores need to “reposition rather than simply shrink”.
“The most useful comparison is Greggs, whose growth strategy has been built on locking into places with guaranteed footfall – petrol forecourts, service stations, travel hubs – rather than relying on people making a dedicated trip to a traditional high street unit,” she says.
“TGJones should be borrowing that logic for its own estate – smaller, convenience-format stores in locations with naturally high dwell time, rather than trying to hold ground on a high street that no longer generates the browsing footfall the format was built for.”
Failing on in-store experience
Like any bricks and mortar business, TGJones’ in-store experience will also be vital to its future performance.
In a LinkedIn post in June, the retailer’s CEO Alex Willson claimed that its plans for stores included cutting clutter, doubling down on best-sellers, repairing ceilings, refreshing flooring, and putting people back in its shops.
However, Frame believes that TGJones has been failing on its in-store experience.
“There was nothing new to draw customers in and no reason to make the effort of a visit rather than simply passing by,” she claims.
“The retailers currently winning are competing on brand experience, not just store location.
“It hasn’t been the fastest, most convenient option, and it hasn’t offered a distinctive enough reason to browse in person, which leaves it stuck in the least defensible position in retail – too slow to win on convenience, not distinctive enough to win on experience.”
Creative director at design services Love Russell Ashdown agrees that TGJones has been failing on its in-store experience for shoppers.
“In the last 12 months, I can’t count the times I used a TGJones store and found no-one easily on hand to help, either at the checkout or on the shop floor,” he points out.
“People ultimately buy from people. There is an art to shopkeeping, and that will never change, no matter how much technology gives brands the opportunity to streamline the business of retailing.
“I think for me, it’s obvious that TGJones forgot that they are in the business of people.”
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