River Island to shut 33 shops in 52 days - including this Cheshire store
River Island will shut 33 stores by the end of January - including one in Cheshire. The clothing retailer is moving ahead with plans to close the stores in a bid to restructure the business following heavy losses.
Its restructuring plan was approved by the High Court back in August. Besides the closures, rent reductions and debt will be written off for 71 stores, reports The Mirror.
River Island currently has over 200 shops nationwide - 122 of which will not be affected - and employs around 5,500 staff. The branch at Barons Quay in Northwich will close in January.
Ben Lewis, CEO of River Island, said: "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." He added: "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 stores to close:
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Bangor Bloomfield, Northern Ireland
Barnstaple, Devon
Beckton, Greater London
Brighton, East Sussex
Burton-on-Trent,
Cumbernauld, Scotland
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Edinburgh Princes Street, Scotland
Falkirk, Scotland
Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Great Yarmouth
Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
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