River Island retailer closures in full as 33 to close in weeks | UK | News | EUROtoday

A excessive avenue retailer is closing nearly three dozen shops over the following seven weeks. River Island is shifting forward with plans to shut 33 shops as a part of a restructuring bid following heavy losses.

The clothes retailer’s restructuring plan was permitted by the High Court in August. Besides the closures, lease reductions, and debt can be written off for 71 shops. River Island at present has over 200 outlets nationwide, with 122 of those remaining unaffected, and employs round 5,500 workers. Ben Lewis, CEO of River Island, mentioned: “We have a clear transformation strategy to ensure the long-term viability of the business, and this decision gives us a strong platform to deliver this.” He added: “Recent improvements in our fashion offer and shopping experience are starting to show results, and the restructuring plan will enable us to align our store estate to our customers’ needs. We are grateful to our suppliers, landlords and other stakeholders for their constructive engagement and shared confidence in River Island’s future.”

In June, Mr Lewis mentioned that though River Island is “a much-loved” British retailer, an increase in on-line purchasing had left the enterprise with “a large portfolio of stores that is no longer aligned to our customers’ needs”.

He added {that a} “sharp rise in the cost of doing business over the last few years has only added to the financial burden”. The enterprise reported a £33.2m pre-tax loss in 2023, following a 19% decline in gross sales, with losses practically doubling to £64m in 2024, based on its accounts.

It has requested landlords to chop its lease for 3 years and doubtlessly cease funds on some items to try to curb its losses. The plan was permitted by a High Court choose in August of this yr.

Full record of shops to shut:

• Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

• Bangor Bloomfield, Northern Ireland

• Barnstaple, Devon

• Beckton, Greater London

• Brighton, East Sussex

• Burton-Upon-Trent, Derbyshire

• Cumbernauld, Scotland

• Didcot, Oxfordshire

• Edinburgh Princes Street, Scotland

• Falkirk, Scotland

• Gloucester, Gloucestershire

• Great Yarmouth

• Grimsby, Lincolnshire

• Hanley, Staffordshire

• Hartlepool, County Durham

• Hereford, Herefordshire

• Kilmarnock, Scotland

• Kirkcaldy, Scotland

• Leeds Birstall Park, West Yorkshire

• Lisburn, Northern Ireland

• Northwich, Cheshire

• Norwich, Norfolk

• Oxford, Oxfordshire

• Perth, Scotland

• Poole, Dorset

• Rochdale, Greater Manchester

• St Helens, Merseyside

• Stockton On Tees, County Durham

• Surrey Quays, Greater London

• Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire

• Taunton, Somerset

• Workington, Cumbria

• Wrexham, Wales