A trial rebrand of the WH Smith logo has been criticised as "rank lunacy" among other things by shoppers, with it drawing comparisons to the NHS logo.

In total, there are 10 shops in England that have been given a new logo, which is a more minimalist design that just shows 'WHS' on a dark blue background.

WH Smith has stated that there is no plan to have the rebrand rolled out at its shops nationwide.

Speaking to The Guardian, Nick Bubb, a retailing analyst and consultant, said: “There is some logic in having a different logo for the high street stores compared to the travel stores but the S in the WHS logo should be in a different type-face so it does not look like the NHS, so the rebrand has been poorly executed.”

WH Smith new logo criticised by many

Many people took to X, formerly known as Twitter to criticise the rebrand of the WH Smith logo, with one person describing it as "rank lunacy" and "corporate stupidity".

Another agreed, posting: "Sackings urgently required, at the top of the marketing dept."

One person shared: "It's just a trial to gauge public response - a pointless exercise in confusion. Just keep to W.H.Smith!"

Another said they should bring back their original logo from the 1970s, writing: "WH Smith’s original cube logo is a belter and timeless - should’ve brought that back."

Many agreed with that sentiment, with one posting: "Surely if you were rebranding WH Smith you'd use the old cube logo to try and cash in on the (waning) residual affection for it. This looks like some sort of pound shop knock off."

One person added: "That's properly scabby. WHS always had a slightly posher feel than plenty of its rivals. Not with this rebrand it doesn't.

"It looks like one of those knockoff brand shops that exists for a year in rundown shopping centres."

A spokesperson from WH Smith said in response to the criticism: "With some customers telling us they aren’t always aware of the wide range of high quality, great value products we stock in our high street stores, we are testing new signage at a small number of locations, to localise our offer and highlight the key product categories customers can always find at WHSmith.

"This is a trial and only in 10 locations. There is no plan to roll this out to the rest of the estate."