River Island news and archive

River Island’s former CEO to return as executive chair

River Island’s former chief executive officer Richard Bradbury is reportedly set to return to the British fashion retailer as executive chair 12 years after his exit. From January 1, Bradbury will be succeeding Will Kernan, who announced he would be stepping down as CEO in November after three years at the business. Kernan will remain at the...

22 Dec 2022

Business

River Island marketing director steps down with immediate effect

River Island has reportedly announced that its marketing director Jill Gate has stepped down from her position, effective immediately. According to a report by Drapers, Gate has left the fashion retailer to pursue new opportunities elsewhere. She joined the business in December 2020 from Photobox and previously served in senior marketing roles...

22 Nov 2022

PeopleFeatured

River Island chief executive Will Kernan to exit

The CEO of high street fashion retailer River Island is leaving the business after three years. Will Kernan is stepping down “to pursue personal projects”, Retail Week reports, citing sources close to the company. Kernan joined River Island as chief executive in September 2019, taking over from previous boss Ben Lewis, who led the company for...

18 Nov 2022

Retail

River Island integrates Scandit as it looks to modernise store operations

High street retailer River Island has opted to implement Scandit, a data tech company, into its operations in order to modernise its store environment. Store associates for the UK brand have been provided with a Scandit-enabled Samsung smartphone, which has been installed with Microsoft Teams, replacing shared hardware-based scanning devices. It...

14 Oct 2022

Retail

River Island said to be preparing US store opening

According to its chief executive officer, River Island is reportedly preparing to open its first store in the US after it experienced a bounce back following the pandemic. Speaking to This is Money, CEO of the British retailer Will Kernan had said the retailer’s online demand had “soared” across various US States, with sales in the region now...

26 Sept 2022

Business

River Island launches tree planting initiative with Ecologi

River Island has announced the launch of an app-driven tree planting programme, developed alongside climate action platform Ecologi. Throughout September 2022, the high street retailer said it will plant one tree for every new email registration and app download. Each of the trees will be planted by one of the platform’s partners in its project...

2 Sept 2022

RetailFeatured

River Island unveils new store concept ‘River Studios’

Fashion chain River Island is launching a new retail concept called ‘River Studios,’ designed to “reinvigorate the modern high street”. ‘River Studios’ will make its debut in Derby’s Derbion shopping centre on August 26 to optimise the high street shopping experience “to fit the future”. The new concept will then roll out to other key locations,...

24 Aug 2022

BusinessFeatured

River Island unveils its 'The Kind Society' sustainability strategy

British retailer River Island has unveiled its sustainability strategy, ‘The Kind Society,’ featuring 12 key commitments, aligned to the United Nations Sustainability Goals, focusing on the “four Ps” - people, planet, principles and partners. “Kindness goes beyond compliments and favours. At River Island, kindness is about us, as a business,...

3 Aug 2022

Business

River Island launches at The Bay in Canada

London high street retailer, River Island, has partnered with Canadian brand The Bay. Through the partnership, River Island will be available to Canadian consumers. The brand’s men’s and women’s styles has also officially launched on The Bay’s website. In-store collections will arrive at the retailer’s select Hudson’s Bay stores in spring of...

3 Dec 2021

Retail

Retail employees reflect on mental health during Covid-19

As October is Mental Health Awareness month, FashionUnited wanted to bring more awareness and transparency to the topic of mental health in the fashion industry by speaking to a former retail manager of River Island and a former sales associate of Hollister to discuss and reflect on what it was like to work in the retail industry during the...

29 Oct 2021

BusinessFeatured

River Island takes turnover hit from lockdowns, but upbeat on recovery

River Island has reported a 31.7 percent drop in turnover for the year ended December 2020 as lockdowns took their toll on the business, but the company says current trading is recovering “strongly”. Turnover at the high street fashion retailer during the period came in at 600.5 million pounds, down from the 879.5 million pounds it posted a year...

28 Sept 2021

BFC, MTV announce winner of ‘Music Meets Fashion’ competition

The British Fashion Council (BFC) and MTV have named Lucy Saunders the winner of the ‘Music Meets Fashion’ competition. The BFC partnered with MTV, Iceberg, and River Island to create a competition among fashion design students from 21 fashion schools in the UK, and internationally that merges music, fashion, and sustainability in their designs....

16 Feb 2021