Popular British retailer to close 32 stores this month — full list

UK fashion icon with more than 200 shops to close 32 this month — full list (Image: Getty)

Iconic British brand River Island has announced it will be closing a total of 32 stores in January. The company explained this is part of a restructuring plan to help save the fashion retailer after a £32.3million pre-tax loss and a 19% drop in sales.

The retailer said the main challenges have been the rise of online shopping and high operating costs. The brand’s CEO, Ben Lewis, added that the fashion brand has “a large portfolio of stores no longer aligned to our customers’ needs,” despite being “much loved” by British shoppers. River Island has 200 shops and employs over 5,000 staff. These jobs are at risk, although the company plans to relocate staff where possible. 

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River Island stores closing in 2026

• Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

• Bangor Bloomfield, Northern Ireland

• Barnstaple, Devon

• Beckton, Greater London

• Brighton, East Sussex

• Burton-Upon-Trent, Derbyshire

• Cumbernauld, Scotland

• Didcot, Oxfordshire

• Edinburgh Princes Street, Scotland

• Falkirk, Scotland

• Gloucester, Gloucestershire

• Great Yarmouth

• Grimsby, Lincolnshire

• Hanley, Staffordshire

• 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

• Surrey Quays, Greater London

• Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire

• Taunton, Somerset

• Workington, Cumbria

• Wrexham, Wales

River Island has over 200 shops and employs over 5,000 staff. (Image: Getty)

Many high-street shops closed down in 2025, including supermarket Marks and Spencer, which permanently closed its iconic Wolverhampton store on Dudley Street in September.

Supermarket Morrisons also shut down more than 100 cafes, florists, and pharmacies last year, and Poundland's 800 stores are currently being reduced to 650, with closures expected in 2026.

According to the finance and services network PWC, "long-term closures are still – and are likely to continue – being driven by the move towards shopping and services being done online".

"A total of 12,804 shops and outlets belonging to multiples and chains exited UK high streets, shopping centres and retail parks in 2024. This is equivalent to 35 closures per day." However, store openings improved that same year, "with numbers slowing slightly to 25 per day".

Express.co.uk has contacted River Island for comment