Major high street retailer to close 18 stores within fortnight | UK | News
High street retailer River Island will close 18 stores by the end of January as part of a major restructuring. The chain has already closed nine stores this month, and six more will close for good on January 24, followed by 12 stores on January 31. Like many other high street chains, it attributed these closures to high operating costs combined with changing customer habits. Ben Lewis, River Island’s chief executive, said the fashion brand was “much loved” in the UK but its “extensive portfolio of stores no longer suits the needs of our customers”.
Last year, the struggling high street retailer announced major cuts, revealing a £32.3 million pre-tax loss in its accounts after sales fell 19%. Mr Lewis said: “We have a clear transformation strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business and this decision provides us with a strong platform to deliver this.
“Recent developments in our fashion offering and shopping experience are starting to show results and the restructuring plan will allow us to align our store space to the needs of our customers.
“We are grateful to our suppliers, landlords and other stakeholders for their constructive engagement and shared confidence in the future of River Island.”
When the closures were first announced last year, it was reported that around 110 of around 950 roles at River Island’s head office had been made redundant, saving an estimated £8.1 million.
Several River Island locations have already closed. Brighton, Edinburgh, Great Yarmouth and Stockton-on-Tees closed their doors at the end of last year.
The fashion giant isn’t the only retailer to announce closures. Many brands have withdrawn from the high street, including major banks, clothing brands and discounters such as Poundland.
This comes after Rachel Reeves announced in the last Budget that the minimum wage would rise, as it does every year, and employers would have to contribute a higher rate to national insurance.
Seen on the high street last year More than 54 retailers are leaving Bankruptcy resulting in the loss of 3,080 stores. Approximately 30,153 employees lost their jobs due to the outages, according to the Center for Retail Research.
