RIVER Island is set to shut one of the first of 34 stores in days as part of a major restructuring plan to keep the chain afloat.
The troubled fashion brand will shut its shop in Stockton-on-Tees on September 14.
River Island has announced the exact date it will close its Stockton-on-Tees store[/caption]
In an email to shoppers the branch said: “Stockton, it’s been a blast! We’re sad to be saying goodbye to our Stockton store. You can shop with us until Sunday, September 14, 2025.”
It is not the only River Island store in the North East that is set to pull down its shutters for good.
River Island is also set to close its shop in Hartlepool, although the exact date it will close for good has not yet been confirmed.
The chain has also said it will close its site in Southside shopping centre in Wandsworth, London.
The branch has launched a 30% off closing down sale to help move stock before it closes for good.
The British fashion chain previously said it would shut 33 stores in January as part of a big restructuring plan.
Bosses at the high street giant previously said the rise in online shopping had piled pressure on the business.
The fashion chain posted a £32.3million pre-tax loss last year and revealed turnover had slumped 15% to £578.1million.
River Island is also asking the landlords of 71 stores for rent reductions.
This is an agreement between the tenant and landlord to help reduce the amount of rent that is due, usually during a period of financial hardship.
The chain already shuttered a shop in Edinburgh on Friday, September 5.
Here are the full list of 34 stores that are set to shut:
- Beckton
- Bangor Bloomfield
- Wrexham
- Edinburgh Princes Street
- Hereford
- Surrey Quays
- Didcot
- Sutton Coldfield
- Aylesbury
- Burton-Upon-Trent
- Northwich
- Taunton
- Workington
- Falkirk
- Cumbernauld
- Kirkcaldy
- Gloucester
- Hartlepool
- Brighton
- Lisburn
- Norwich
- Oxford
- Poole
- Kilmarnock
- Hanley
- Barnstaple
- Grimsby
- Leeds Birstall Park
- Rochdale
- Great Yarmouth
- St Helens
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Perth
- Wandsworth
Struggle on the high street
The news comes after a challenging period for retail, with many chains battling a fall in consumer spending alongside rising costs.
The owners of New Look are understood to be in calls with advisers to carry out a strategic review of the fashion chain, which could result in a sale.
So far this year the chain has shuttered a dozen sites, including locations across Wales and Scotland.
Meanwhile, in February New Look also left the Republic of Ireland and closed 26 stores.
Last month Claire’s also tumbled into administration and stopped online orders.
Modella Capital, the owner of WH Smith’s high street stores, and Doug Putman, the saviour of HMV, have both put forward bids to acquire the UK arm of the retailer, according to Sky News.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
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