It was revealed last week that 33 shops across the UK are set to close.
11:28, 25 Jun 2025Updated 14:36, 25 Jun 2025
River Island’s closure list has been revealed.(Image: John Keeble/Getty Images)
River Island has revealed the 33 shops across the UK that are set to close after mounting heavy losses due to a slump in trade. Six of the selected stores are in Scotland with the Central Belt seeing the biggest impact.
As a result of this shut down, hundreds of jobs are set to be lost. Additionally, 71 more stores are also said to be at risk as the family-owned fashion retailer is in talks with landlords over rent prices.
Bosses off the chain have said these closures are due to a “migration of shoppers from high street to online” and the costs to run stores becoming higher.
The huge shake-up will leave just nine of the retailer’s stores in the UK retaining full rent payments. Included in the list of stores set for closure were five high street shops in Scotland.
The stores set to close are Edinburgh Princes Street, Falkirk, Cumbernauld, Kirkcaldy, Kilmarnock, and Perth.
These shops are being closed as part of the fashion firm’s formal restructuring proposal that is due to go to a creditor vote in August before being sanctioned by the High Court.
Five Scottish River Island stores are set to close.(Image: Brian Lawless/PA Wire)
The selected River Island stores set for closure are said to remain open until January 2026. This will be done so the firm can benefit from peak trading and realign its stock position.
However, River Island said they will individually and collectively consult employees from the impacted stores. As part of this, the firm hopes to look at the viability of redeployment within the business to minimise the impact on jobs.
These stores are have been chosen as they are “no longer aligned to customers’ needs”. The documents submitted to the court also show the retailer splitting its store estate into seven categories.
Of the 230 stores, 71 stores are subject to rent reductions, while nine will retain full rent payments. In the plans, 38 stores will face rent slashes of up to 75 per cent for three years, with 24 other stores set to move to a zero-rent model.
71 stores are in talks with landlords over rent.(Image: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Last week, chief executive Ben Lewis said: “River Island is a much-loved retailer, with a decades-long history on the British high street.
“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.
“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.”
“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.”
He added: “We regret any job losses as a result of store closures, and we will try to keep these to a minimum.”
River Island was founded in 1948 under the Lewis and Chelsea Girl brand before being renamed in the 1980s. The retailer currently employs around 5,500 people.
According to the firm’s most recent set of accounts, River Island fell to a £33.2million loss in 2023 after sales dropped by 19 per cent.
Full list of River Island stores set for closure
- Aylesbury
- Bangor Bloomfield
- Barnstaple
- Beckton
- Brighton
- Burton-Upon-Trent
- Cumbernauld
- Didcot
- Edinburgh Princes Street
- Falkirk
- Gloucester
- Great Yarmouth
- Grimsby
- Hanley
- Hartlepool
- Hereford
- Kilmarnock
- Kirkcaldy
- Leeds Birstall Park
- Lisburn
- Northwich
- Norwich
- Oxford
- Perth
- Poole
- Rochdale
- St Helens
- Stockton On Teens
- Surrey Quays
- Sutton Coldfield
- Taunton
- Workington
- Wrexham
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