River Island currently has more than 220 stores across the UK and Ireland and employs around 5,500 people.
However, the high street fashion chain revealed back in August that it was preparing to close 33 stores as part of a restructuring plan (which was approved by the High Court).
The restructuring plan is aimed at preventing River Island from collapsing into administration, and comes after a decline in footfall and sales.
UK high street shops that no longer exist
Along with the closures, River Island will also pay reduced rent at a further 71 shops.
Full list of 33 River Island stores closing in the UK
River Island closed four of the 33 branches listed in the restructuring plan at the back end of last year. These stores were:
- Brighton
- Edinburgh Princes Street
- Great Yarmouth
- Stockton-on-Tees
A new Footasylum shop opened in the Stockton-on-Tees site on October 23, 2025.
The closure dates for 27 more River Island shops have now been confirmed.
The confirmed dates, according to fashion business experts Drapers, are:
- Aylesbury – January 18
- Bangor Bloomfield – January 24
- Barnstaple – January 31
- Beckton – January 31
- Birstall Shopping Park (Leeds) – January 18
- Burton upon Trent – January 18
- Cumbernauld – January 24
- Didcot – January 31
- Falkirk – January 31
- Gloucester – January 31
- Grimsby – January 31
- Hanley – January 24
- Hartlepool – January 24
- Hereford – January 31
- Kilmarnock – January 24
- Kirkcaldy – January 31
- Lisburn – January 18
- Northwich – January 24
- Oxford – January 31
- Perth – January 18
- Poole – January 31
- Rochdale – January 31
- St Helens – January 24
- Surrey Quays – January 18
- Sutton Coldfield – January 18
- Taunton – January 18
- Wrexham – January 18
Closure dates for Norwich and Workington are yet to be confirmed.
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River Island chief executive, Ben Lewis, previously 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.”
