The Merseyside store will shut three weeks today
Boxing day sales at Silverlink Shopping Park, River Island
A major retail chain is set to close over 30 stores this month as part of a previously announced restructuring plan. River Island will close 33 shops this month across the UK, including one in St Helens.
The company’s store in Liverpool city centre and Widnes will, however, remain open as normal. The closures will affect locations in major cities, including Edinburgh, Leeds, Oxford, Brighton and Perth. The stores are due to close by the end of January, with the ECHO understanding St Helens shop is shutting on Saturday, January 24.
The Liverpool ECHO reached out to River Island for comment. In August 2025, the ECHO reported how the decision to close the stores formed part of a long-planned “restructuring plan” designed to prevent the chain from going into administration. As part of this, it was agreed River Island would shut 33 outlets and negotiate reduced rents on a further 71.
At the time, the fashion retailer was seeking to secure additional funding to avoid plunging into millions of pounds of debt. Property owners were being urged to slash rents for three years and potentially halt payments entirely on some locations in an effort to reduce losses.
Matthew Weaver KC, representing River Island, informed a hearing on back in August, that the company “simply has not been able to reverse” a pattern of financial struggles as the restructuring plan received approval from the High Court in the UK.
In written statements, he highlighted a drop in customer numbers and sales owing to “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.
“A number of geopolitical events have also resulted in continuing supply chain disruption which, together with energy, labour and other price increases, has resulted in a cost base that’s too high and unsustainable at its current level.”
Following a 2025 meeting, five out of the ten classes of creditors gave their approval to the rescue plan, necessitating River Island to seek approval from the High Court to proceed. The court hearing on in August saw no opposition to the proposals.
River Island CEO Ben Lewis welcomed the news at the time, stating he was “pleased that River Island’s restructuring plan has been approved by the High Court”.
He further added: “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. 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.”
Full list of locations of shuts impacted
-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