It is officially the end of an era for WH Smith as its iconic logo is being removed from stores across the country. The stationer and book retailer is now set to disappear completely from the UK high street after over 200 years as its name is replaced in a rebrand.
Modella Capital, the owner of Hobbycraft, took over the chain in March. They have now decided to rebrand the 464 high street stores to TG Jones. Pictures are starting to emerge of the signage as the well-known name is wiped from communities across the UK. The new design sticks pretty closely to the existing layout and colour scheme, with the switch described in the application documents as a like-for-like replacement, preserving the white writing and blue background.
However, the transformation has been brutally mocked on social media for being somewhat of a botched job. In one hilarious snap shared on X, a small TJ Jones sign has seemingly been stuck over the huge WH Smith writing.
The small banner looks as if it has been attached by its four corners in an attempt to cover the old logo. The sign is so small you can easily see the former WH Smith logo poking out underneath it.
Taking to X, Rich Bernard, who spotted the rebrand mockingly, wrote: “High quality rebrand here.”
He added: “I was surprised to see it on our high street today, as I’d heard it was happening, but not when.”
Above the botched logo sits another TG Jones sign with first two letters in capitals.
In response one X user said: “Could some marketing genius explain. You have a supremely well trusted household brand name that has been a feature of the high street for over a century. Everyone knows who it is and what it does.
“Why would you ditch this in favour of a brand name no-one has ever heard of?”
“Oh that doesn’t bode well for its future at all does it,” said a second.
A third user simply wrote: “It’s utterly utterly meaningless.”
Only shops in railway stations and airports will continue to be called WHSmith. The rest are adopting the new TG Jones branding.
Subscribed shoppers are also now getting emails from TGJones rather than WH Smith.