WH Smith is opening high-end souvenir and stationery shops called Curi.o.city which is fill the gap in the market left by Paperchase.
The book and stationery retailer is set to open Curi.o.city in Gatwick Airport’s north and south terminals on March 16 this year.
Another branch of Curi.o.city will also be opening at St Pancras station in London at the beginning of April.
The standalone stores will sell gifts, stationery and souvenirs from a mix of third-party brands including Biscuiteers, East London Liquor Company and Soapsmith, The Times reported.
Chief executive Carl Cowling told the publication he saw "fresh opportunities" following the demise of Paperchase, which collapsed in January.
Paperchase was one of WH Smith's main competitors in the market.
Tesco announced that it had bought the Paperchase brand last month, however, this did not include the chain's 106 shops or nearly 900 staff.
Paperchase stores are still open and currently remain trading, however, they will be closed over the next few months.
There is no official date for when the last Paperchase store will close in the UK.
The Times reported that WH Smith had hired several employees from the Paperchase head office team who worked in buying and merchandising roles.
It is also said to be taking over the Paperchase concession in the Selfridges shop in Manchester and replacing it with a WH Smith.
The WH Smith boss told the publication that it had "no plans" to open any more of its WH Smith shops on the high street.
It would however expand its stationery ranges in stores near where Paperchase used to operate.
The stationer has more than 1,700 stores, with 590 travel branches and 530 high street stores.
Going forward, WH Smith is set to continue its push into the American travel market.
According to Carl Cowling, revenue from the stationary retailer's US travel business is to overtake those of its UK high street shops next year.
The retailer opened 60 shops in the US in 2022 and reportedly has another 60 in the pipeline for this year.
According to the chain's January trading update, it said it had made a "strong start to the year" and had benefited from the rebound of travel in the UK.
Mirror Money has contacted WH Smith directly about this story.
