WH Smith, the biggest newsagent chain in the UK, has done a deal with Penguin books so only DK or Roughguides will be available at WHS Travel stores at airports, motorway and railway shops.
I have since been to WH Smith at Stansted and Gatwick and sure enough it’s all DK and Roughguides.
I am usually more organised than to buy a guidebook at the airport, but this deal has put me off buying anything at WH Smith.
The big shops were meant to bring more choice, but sometimes they actually provide less choice. I went into a Tesco Express to get a can of soft drink. The only cans they had available were Coke and Diet Coke. I then went to an independent off licence and they had about 20 types of canned drinks.
Unfortunately this is a growing trend in the UK. Go to any town in Britain and every High St has the same shops selling the same stuff. This phenomenon has been coined clone town.