It’s been a while since consumers across America started cutting their discretionary spending to cope with the boom. inflation.
March YouGov the report reveals that the economic outlook strongly shapes intentions to reduce spending. For example, it explains that consumers who expect their financial situation to worsen are more likely to cut back on clothing purchases.
The US Department of Commerce also stated that clothing store sales fell another 0.7% per month at the end of December 2025.
I recently reported how WH Smithwhich owns several Las Vegas Strip clothing stores, including the Marshall Rousso and Misura brands, is quietly closing 26 retail locations. The continued decline in tourism in Las Vegas, where visitors play more and shop less, has left many of the resort’s high-end boutiques feeling squeezed.
But WH Smith’s regulatory filings reveal a much bigger movement: a continent-wide retreat triggered by a multi-million dollar corporate scandal.
WH Smith plans to exit North American fashion
In the entire fashion portfolio of WH Smith/MRG on the Strip, the most important clothing brands are Marshall Rousso and Misura and Paradiso Carina and The Dean.
Still, the company is closing all of its fashion stores on the Las Vegas Strip due to declining sales, and the corporate giant is even considering exiting the North American fashion and specialty market altogether.
WH Smith also announced the following priorities to deliver profitable growth and improve return on capital:
An expanding range of UK travel products, health and beauty products and takeaway food
Strengthening focus on North American travel needs
We’re leaving the fashion and specialty stores in North America and checking out the InMotion North America portfolio
Strengthening the ROW core market, driving new growth through the franchise model, looking at and exiting non-core markets Source: WH Smith announcement
Marshall Rousso and the owner of Misura plan to completely abandon North American fashion. d3sign/Getty Images
Why WH Smith is leaving the US altogether
Weak sales aren’t the only reason WH Smith is pulling out in North America.
An independent investigation by Deloitte LLP revealed that the company’s North American division had systematically exaggerated its supplier revenue and promotional discounts.
The Official review by Deloitte shows that the division ignored company rules for calculating money received from suppliers, making it appear that the division was bringing in much more cash than it actually was.
« The accounting treatment of supplier revenue applied by the North American division was not consistent with the group’s stated accounting principles and therefore did not comply with the requirements of the applicable accounting standards, » the document says.
Due to the over-reporting of previous earnings, the company must now go back and correct the previous years’ accounting.
The money received from the suppliers is there, but the US office recorded the suppliers’ income earlier than the accounting policy allows, according to the review document.
« This is an extremely serious matter that has received the full attention of the board and we sincerely apologize for the shortcomings identified. Although the issues identified occurred in our North American division, we recognize the importance of strengthening controls, governance and reporting procedures across the group, » stated Annette Court, Chairman of WH Smith PLC.
When the news broke, the company’s stock suffered a 42% one-day plunge. PublishersLunch reported, instantly wiping out around £600 million ($760+ million) of total market capitalization.
Surprisingly, the company’s official gatekeepers failed to notice the multi-million dollar difference. Global accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had been auditing the company’s accounts since 2015 and repeatedly signed off on figures that were too high. The accounting errors were discovered by members of the internal finance team, who officially blew the whistle.
Why did WH Smith’s accounting error happen and how does it affect the bottom line?
The Review by Deloitte said the multimillion-dollar error was the result of intense pressure to meet financial targets and insufficient oversight by the US office.
« The revenue issue for North American suppliers has emerged against the backdrop of a target-oriented performance culture and decentralized divisional structure, combined with limited group control of North American financial processes, » the document says.
The error affected WH Smith’s actual profits. Although investors and the stock market predicted that the North American division would report a huge profit of 55 million pounds ($72.5 million), the company announced a significant revision.
« In North America, Headline trading profit is expected to be between £5m and £15m, which is lower than the revised expectation of around £25m announced on 21 August 2025 and the market’s previous expectation of £55m, » the company said.
As a result of the audit, the company expects payments of 10 million pounds within non-core costs in the 25th financial year.
WH Smith chief executive resigns as company claws back ‘overpaid bonuses’.«
The WH Smith scandal led to the resignation of CEO Carl Cowling. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also launched a formal implementation study About possible violations of accounting rules by the company’s North American division.
In addition, the board is working to recover « overpaid bonuses from former directors after the profit and loss account for the financial periods ending August 31, 2023 and August 31, 2024 ».
Meanwhile, on 7 April 2026, WH Smith confirmed a filing that instead of hiring a traditional CEO, the shareholders approved the appointment of Leo Quinn as chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Which stores are closing?
The company did not specify which stores are affected by these closures. The Street previously connected with the company for more information, but WH Smith declined to comment.
WH Smith fashion brands:
Marshall Rousso: Offers a collection of women’s fashion apparel including handbags, jewelry and shoes.
Measure: A contemporary menswear and lifestyle boutique with stores in Las Vegas’ luxury casino resorts.
Nice shoe: Italian for ‘beautiful shoe’, Bella Scarpa is a ‘chic boutique catering to women looking for feminine, sexy style with bold panache’.
Dean: Featuring men’s fashion and other products from popular brands such as Boss, Herschel, Kiehl’s, Mizzen + Main, Shinola, Tumi, and Vince Camuto.
@easy: Offers sportswear and accessories in collections Puma, Prana, DYI, shape, and Marmot.
Aka: Men’s clothing covers lifestyle brands Rock revival and Hugo Boss Thu Tommy Bahama and Bugatchi.
Carina: Stylish clothes featuring designers such as Joseph Ribkoff, Miss Meand Albert Makal.
Paradiso: The luxury fashion chain offers « gay women’s clothing, shoes and accessories from an enviable list of designers ».
Oh man: Offers a lifestyle boutique for men. Source: WH Smith North America
