WH Smith is to open six outlets at Australia’s Sydney airport following a “competitive tender process”.

The new stores are part of the airport’s plans to transform the T1 terminal and the first outlet will open in August, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

“This is a real evolution from the traditional ‘books and news’ operations and introduces a reinvigorated range of must-have travel product essentials, that make every journey easier in a convenient one-stop shop,” Sydney airport general manager of retail Glyn Williams said. “WH Smith is one of the world’s largest and most successful retail operators of travel essentials and we are looking forward to a successful partnership across the six locations in the T1 terminal.”

The shops will have “highly personalised” product zones and will stock a number of major brands, he added.

Last year WH Smith said its travel stores were the highest performing area of its business, with profits up 11% to £75m. Sales from high street stores, by contrast, increased 4% to £58m.

Overall, the group’s total sales fell 2% to £1,161m and were down 3% on a like-for-like basis.