• [Gloucestershire Live Icon]
• News
• Gloucester News
• Fashion

Fashion chain shuts 11 stores today in high street blow including south west sites

It has been a mainstay on Britain's high streets since 1988 but has hit financial difficulties

[River Island stores, including one in Gloucester, are to close]

View Image

River Island stores, including one in Gloucester, are set to close(Image: Stree)

A retailer that has been a mainstay on Britain's high streets since 1988 is shutting 11 stores today (Jan 31) as part of a fresh round of closures. River Island, the established fashion chain, has been grappling with substantial financial challenges.

Last year, a restructuring scheme designed to prevent River Island from entering administration received approval from a High Court judge. The London-headquartered company has unveiled a survival plan that involves closing 33 outlets and securing rent cuts across a further 71 premises. The closures today include South West sites Gloucester, Barnstaple and Poole.

Property owners have been requested to accept reduced rental fees over a three-year period, with some locations potentially paying nothing whatsoever, as the business attempts to halt mounting losses.

The shutdowns, affecting locations throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, are scheduled for Saturday, 31 January, delivering yet another setback to shoppers and struggling town centres across the nation.

The company recorded a pre-tax deficit of 32.3 million last year whilst revealing that revenue had fallen by 15 per cent to 578.1 million.

Matthew Weaver KC, acting for River Island, informed the court hearings that the enterprise "simply has not been able to reverse" its trajectory of financial hardship.

The drop in customer numbers and sales was blamed on "the pressures of a highly competitive and changing retail environment as well as the prevailing trend away from high street retail stores to online shopping". Earlier this year, Ben Lewis, CEO of River Island, declared: "River Island is a much-loved retailer, with a decades-long history on the British high street."

He continued: "However, the well-documented migration of shoppers from the high street to online has left the business with a large portfolio of stores that is no longer aligned to our customers' needs."

Mr Lewis explained: "The sharp rise in the cost of doing business over the last few years has only added to the financial burden. We have a clear strategy to transform the business to ensure its long-term viability."

He continued: "Recent improvements in our fashion offer and in-store shopping experience are already showing very positive results, but it is only with a restructuring plan that we will be able to see this strategy through and secure River Island's future as a profitable retail business."

For the latest money-saving tips, shopping and consumer news, visit the new Everything Money website.

Lewis concluded: "We regret any job losses as a result of store closures, and we will try to keep these to a minimum."

The restructuring is thought to have been prompted by a pre-tax loss of 32.3million and a 19 per cent decline in sales. River Island, which employs more than 5,000 people nationwide, is still weighing up additional store closures and redeploying staff wherever feasible.

The brand was founded as a menswear retailer in Exeter in 1988, with the River Island name drawing inspiration from Leonard Lewis's experiences aboard a Thames vessel.

The name and outlet proved so triumphant that the whole enterprise was rebranded from Chelsea Girl to River Island later that same year.

Stores closing January 31, 2026

• Barnstaple
• Beckton
• Didcot
• Falkirk
• Gloucester
• Grimsby
• Hereford
• Kirkcaldy
• Oxford
• Poole
• Rochdale

Stores already shut this month:

• Aylesbury
• Burton upon Trent
• Leeds Birstall Park
• Lisburn
• Perth
• Surrey Quays
• Sutton Coldfield
• Taunton
• Wrexham
• Bangor Bloomfield
• Cumbernauld
• Hanley
• Hartlepool
• Kilmarnock
• Northwich
• St Helens

[Gloucestershire Live Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Gloucestershire Live as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.