RIVER ISLAND has launched a huge closing down sale ahead of shutting a popular branch in days.
The troubled fashion brand will close down its branch at Showgrounds Retail Park in Omagh, Northern Ireland.
1
The branch has launched an “everything must go” sale ahead of its closure on September 22.
Staff posted a heartfelt message to locals on social media, sharing the news.
It read: “Our landlord and River Island unfortunately couldn’t agree on the terms of a new lease. So unfortunately the landlord has asked RiverIsland to vacate the building.
“As you can imagine the team are totally gutted especially at such a short turnaround.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our wonderful customers who have shopped with us for years! We know you will be sad to see us leave as well.”
Fans were quick to share their devastation, with one angry shopper describing the news “ridiculous”.
They added: “River Island was the only decent fashion store left in Omagh.”
And another shopper said: “Another business gone we won’t have anything left in our town it’s actually depressing looking around it”
While a third customer added: “This is so sad. If I shop it’s rarely online. I like to experience the shop feeling …. this is so sad for the town too.”
The store will shutter for good on Monday September 22, giving shoppers just one week to say their goodbyes.
The British fashion brand previously said it would shut 33 stores in January as part of a major restructuring plan to keep the chain afloat.
Bosses at the high street chain previously blamed a rise in online shopping for piling pressure on the business.
The chain posted a £32.3million pre-tax loss last year and revealed turnover had slumped 15% to £578.1million.
River Island is also pleading with the landlords of 71 stores for rent reductions.
This is an agreement between the tenant and the landlord to help reduce the amount of rent due, usually in a period of financial hardship.
A few weeks ago, it was also revealed that branch in Wandsworth would also close in January.
This is the full list of 35 stores that will 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
- Omagh
Trouble on the high street
It comes amid a challenging time for retail with many chains battling low consumer spending alongside rising costs.
The owners of New Look are understood to be 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 closed a dozen sites, including locations across Scotland and Wales.
Elsewhere, bargain beauty chain Bodycare will close 32 of its 147 stores as part of a dramatic administration process.
While 115 stores continue to operate and trade as usual as administrators assess future options for the business, some additional stores have started “everything must go” sales, signalling potential further closures.
Live Unlimited, which specialises in plus size clothing, also filed a notice to appoint administrators this week.
And Cefinn, a fashion brand loved by the Royals revealed it would be wound up.
Twenty-four employees will lose their jobs but they’re expected to receive a redundancy package and paid notice.
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.”
