WH Smith has dropped "Smith" from its signs in a trial rebrand that has been compared to the NHS logo.
The retailer has shortened ten of its store front signs to "WHS", leaving some shoppers bemused.
The sign now consists of the three letters, WHS, in a white typeface on a blue background, dropping the surname of William Henry Smith, who made the firm a household name.
There are now ten stores across the country with the new logo, including shops in Preston and York.
The rebranding is a trial and may not make it onto the shop fronts of its 1,100 stores across the UK.
One customer said on X, formerly Twitter: "Unbelievable rebranding. Looks like you don't have have faith in it yourself judging by the fact you've kept the old (and much better one) on here [X]! Fire whoever thought that was a good idea."
Another wrote: "The new WH Smith logo is totally baffling."
A third person said: "The new one to me just creams NHS. Similar font and just a darker blue."
A spokesperson for WH Smith told MailOnline said the new signs were designed in mind to raise awareness of the range of products sold by the company.
He added that there were currently no plans to roll the new design out to further stores.
The chain has gone through a whole host of logos throughout the years, including an egg shaped red and gold sign, until the seventies, when the brand changed it to a cube shape and the signage for stores was brown and orange.
The retailer was originally known for its stock of books, newspapers and magazines, greeting cards and stationery - but now includes snack food and has expanded into airports.
Business is booming at its travel stores, which are located in transport hubs such as train stations and airports.
There is now a WH Smith in more than 30 countries and more than 120 airports across the world.
It is opening a further 120 shops in April after sales rose.
The retailer is now looking at focusing its global expansion towards airports and railway shop stations instead of its traditional high street stores, with half of store openings set to be in North America.
Profits have more than doubled helped by the lifting of travel restrictions following Covid.
