circa 1,400
employees
£1,064.0m
revenue FY25
34
distribution centres
200+
years of experience
83%
participation rate in engagement survey
8.55p
dividend per share FY25
Our Vision and Purpose
Our vision, strategy and business statements are founded on our long-established leadership in news wholesaling, but are also focused on the future – the ambition they encompass reflects the progress of the business and the opportunities to expand in complementary markets.
Our vision statement describes the direction we are headed. It is grounded in our business model and competitive advantage, and as such it acts as a compass bearing for our strategy and plans.
Our purpose statement describes the role we play and the difference we make to our customers and the wider supply chain.
Our Strategy
Our strategy is focused on four complementary market pillars.
The UK’s Leading News Wholesaler
With 55% market share, Smiths News plc is the UK’s largest newspaper and magazine wholesaler, serving over 22,000 retail outlets in England and Wales. We deliver seven days a week, providing the same core service to customers as diverse as superstores, travel outlets and small rural convenience shops. Our long-standing, secure relationships with both publishers and retailers make us an essential link in the supply chain. With an extensive network we offer a shared route to market that is flexible, cost efficient and timely backed by service guarantees and added value services that are founded on our bespoke systems and technology. Building on our core capabilities, we are consistently growing in adjacent markets that play to our strengths in early morning distribution and end to end logistics.
An Essential Supply Chain Partner
Our logistics capability delivers outstanding service and added value for both suppliers and customers. Our long-established network of final mile contractors means that we have the flexibility to respond to changing demand, without the burden of high fixed costs. One of our prime examples is our efficiency in delivering the nation’s newspapers and magazines; it involves coordinating the needs of publishers, printers, hauliers, retailers and consumers. Most of all, it requires the capability to reliably serve customers in some of the tightest and earliest of delivery windows, 364 days a year. Our range of services provide extensive added value to our customers and suppliers, helping them to run their business more efficiently and profitably.
Our Dedicated Network
Our network is shaped by the distribution contracts we hold with all the major UK publishers. With strong coverage of the major conurbations, we operate in defined territories across England and Wales, amounting to 55% UK market share. Using a hub and spoke configuration, we have 34 depots in total. The largest ‘super hubs’ operate round the clock, sorting and prepacking magazines and other products ready to be delivered with the next morning’s newspapers. These are then transferred to smaller depots and overnight distribution centres which make the ‘final mile’ distributions to over 22,000 retailers.
Our Extensive Capabilities
Our business model – in tandem with our vision and purpose – is built on extensive capabilities that are integral to our role and market leadership.
Early morning specialist
Every day we reach approximately 22,000 customers, typically before 6.30am, with reliable deliveries and collections that are essential for their businesses.
Network Coverage
The density and frequency of our daily deliveries is second to none – we cover urban and rural areas, using flexible routing that accommodates variations in volume while optimising efficiency.
Returns Logistics
Alongside our daily deliveries we collect unsold and recyclable waste products for return and recycling. We have in-house capability to sort, process and audit products of high value as well as ensuring sustainable disposal.
Assured KPIs
We track and monitor every step of the logistics process – from receipt of goods to returns and recycling – and share performance with transparent reporting to suppliers and key customers.
Category Management
With a comprehensive view of sales and returns, our systems adjust the supplies of over 3,000 product lines on a daily basis. This helps to maximise sales and simplifies the management of complex categories for our customers.
Instore support
We have capability to provide instore merchandising, sales promotion and stock auditing. We also have access to specialist high traffic flow outlets such as those at airports and travel points.
Operating Round the Clock
Newspapers, with fast-changing content, require a unique supply chain managed efficiently by Smiths News. We handle newspapers, magazines, customer service, returns, and recycling swiftly, crediting unsold newspapers and recycling them.
Every night we
make deliveries to
22,000 customers
c.21m
items distributed each week
c.160,000
tracked deliveries
each week
99% of unsold
newspapers and
magazines recycled
