The company is engaged in the retail sale of books and stationery. The company operates primarily in the UK but has limited presence in other cities like Paris, Shannon, Copenhagen and Stockholm.
The company operates through two business segments: travel and high street.
The travel business focuses on operating stores in airports, railway stations, motorway service areas, hospitals, workplaces and bus stations. As of August 31 2010, 516 travel locations were in operation of which 128 operated under franchise agreements. These stores are more "convenience" oriented and sell a tailored range of products targeting people on the move. Travel stores are smaller with units ranging in size from 90 square feet to more than 6,000 square feet with a total of 0.4m square feet of selling space. Of the 516 travel units, 136 are in airports, 117 in railway stations, 119 in motorway service areas, 103 in hospitals and 24 in locations such as bus stations and workplaces. A limited number stores are located abroad but is not representative. Travel stores are located in the high footfall areas (i.e. areas with significant numbers of people going through).
The high street stores are extensively spread across the UK and have presence in several significant high streets in the city. The high street stores sell a wide range of products compared to the travel stores, with a product mix that includes books, stationery (including greetings cards), news and impulse (including newspapers, magazines, confectionery and other impulse products), and a convenience offer of entertainment products. The high street stores are large with store size ranging from 777 square feet to more than 23,000 square feet and the total retail space under the portfolio as of August 31, 2010 was 3 million square feet. SP operated 573 High Street stores by the end of FY2010.
The high street segment also operates online retail business and sells a range of books, stationery, magazines and gifts