WH Smith to open at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah

Saudi Arabia is set to attract more WH Smith openings. (Supplied)

• Airport retail may rebound on travel resumption
• Pandemic culls names across retail sector

DUBAI: British retailer WH Smith is coming to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
Tihama Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Company has agreed a deal with the General Authority of Civil Aviation to lease two units at the airport, it said in a Saudi stock exchange filing.
Tihama Education, a unit of the Tadawul-listed company, will operate two outlets under the WH Smith brand franchise, covering arrivals and departures.
Tihama has an existing partnership with WH Smith at Riyadh Airport and in the UAE.
WH smith did not respond to a request for comment.
Founded in 1792, WH Smith is one of the oldest names on the British high street and has also become one of the world’s leading travel retailers operating over 1,100 stores in 31 countries.
Retailers have suffered from the impact of more than a year of intermittent lockdowns worldwide but the transport-focused end of the retail business may stand to benefit from a resumption of international air travel.
Analysts at RBC upgraded WH Smith to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ last week and lifted their price target on the stock to 2,200p from 2,100p.