River Island
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by
Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near E ...
. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online. Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Island also has menswear, kidswear and pet collections. River Island’s collections are entirely designed in-house at the brand’s West London head office, and it was one of the first vertical fashion retailers in the UK. In the 1960s, it became an influential name in the womenswear fashion scene, under its previous name: Chelsea Girl. Today, River Island is considered a key player on the UK high street, with 250 stores across the country, including flagship locations in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, plus a significant online presence. In recent years, the business has expanded internationally, and continued to grow its online offer. River Island is a
private company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
, and remains fully owned by the Lewis family.


History


Origins

In 1948, Bernard Lewis started selling fruit and vegetables, from a market stall situated in an old bomb site in Notting Hill. Soon after, a second site, named The Wool Shop, opened, selling
knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...
wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...
and a small amount of ladies clothing. Responding to the post-war demand for women’s clothing, Lewis shifted the business focus to clothing and began designing and making clothes in-house. The company sold its first own made design in 1950 – a white, lace trimmed blouse with capped sleeve. Joined by his three brothers, the chain expanded to nine stores under the title Lewis Separates.


Chelsea Girl and the 1960s

Led by the Lewis family, the business was an influential name in the 1960s fashion scene. By 1965 Lewis Separates had a 70 store empire in the UK and it was decided that the brand needed a new identity. Lewis Separates was re-branded to Chelsea Girl, named after the brand's store on
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
in
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
- at the time a hub of fashion, music and popular culture. Chelsea Girl was a key driver of the iconic mini dress trend. According to Bernard Lewis, the business pivoted production to focus on mini dresses in response to strong sales, and between spring and autumn 1965, mini dresses grew from 5-6% of sales to 50%. The Chelsea Girl name was revived in 2011, with a capsule collection in UK stores focusing on retro styles. In 2022, Chelsea Girl was refreshed again, focusing on a younger consumer and pitched as being for the "new generation of Chelsea girls".


Expansion and introduction of River Island

In the 1980s, menswear was introduced to the business for the first time by Bernard’s son, Leonard Lewis, with the Concept Man brand. Concept Man stores were combined with existing Chelsea Girl shops, either in unused first floor spaces or adjacent premises. In 1988, River Island launched as a menswear store in
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, with the name inspired by Leonard Lewis’s time spent on a boat on the Thames. The name and store performed so well that the whole business was rebranded from Chelsea Girl to River Island later in 1988.


High street success

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the brand continued to grow with a continued focus on trend-led, in-house designs it became a leading high street retailer in the UK. It was also one of the first high street retailers to launch online in the late 1990s.


Present day

River Island is headquartered in West London, with all core teams based in this location, including its in-house design team. Including store staff, River Island employs around 8,400 people in the UK, and in 2019, over 200 staff had worked at River Island for over 25 years.


Leadership

River Island is privately owned by the Lewis Family through the Lewis Trust Group. Historically the business has been led by family members, including Bernard's sons Clive and Leonard Lewis and nephew Ben Lewis, who led the business for nine years up to 2019. The family remains closely involved in the business, as non-executive directors. At age 96, Bernard Lewis is also said to still work five days a week at River Island's HQ. Will Kernan took over from Ben Lewis as CEO in 2019. Formerly CEO of cycling retailer Wiggle for two years, and CEO of lifestyle retailer
The White Company ''The White Company'' is a historical adventure by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, set during the Hundred Years' War. The story is set in England, France and Spain, in the years 1366 and 1367, against the background of the campaign of Edward ...
for five years, Kernan also spent 13 years at New Look, becoming chief operating officer in 2010. Observers praised the appointment as a "considered", "intelligent" choice, with commentary noting Kernan's appointment was likely to place greater focus on growing digital and international operations to help River Island compete with its high street rivals. In November 2022, it was announced that Kernan would leave his role as CEO in 2023.


UK operations

River Island sells through 300 stores in the UK as well as online. In 2022, the brand launched a new segmentation strategy with the opening of its store in Swansea's Morfa retail park. According to River Island this strategy specifically curates stores for their local markets. In the UK, the brand also sells via select wholesale partners Next, Very and
Asos ASOS or Asos may refer to: * Asos, a village in Greece * ASOS (retailer), a UK online fashion store * Association Sportive Oussou Saka, a Beninese football team * Automated Surface Observing System, a type of weather station * Air Support Operat ...
.


Digital and multichannel operations

In recent years, River Island has invested heavily in its multichannel offer, including in technology, supply chain and logistics. In 2018, then CEO Ben Lewis said: “We want to be a leading retailer but we also want to be a leading tech company.” According to accounts available on Companies House, the business has invested heavily in IT, spending £1.5m in 2018 and 2019, adding infrastructure and staff. In 2008, River Island was an early adopter of content focused retailing, and launched a website featuring blogs, news, trends and style alongside its ecommerce offer. This is now absorbed into the main ecommerce site, which continues to publish editorial content.


International

In 1993, the brand expanded outside of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, with its first shop in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, on Dublin's Grafton Street. It later expanded into mainland Europe, opening its
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
shop in 2006. Today River Island ships to 125 countries globally, and works with international wholesale and franchise partners including Alshaya, Namshi and Zalando. According to Companies House documents, in 2020, around 11% of turnover came from international markets. In 2021, River Island launched online in the US and Canada, partnering with The Bay in Canada. and
Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...
in the US. In 2022, select The Bay and Nordstrom stores began stocking River Island.


Financials

During the Covid-19 pandemic, sales fell dramatically at River Island as lockdown measures forced closures on the entire UK store estate. In its most recent results, covering the 52 weeks to 26 December 2020, turnover fell 31.7% year on year to £600.5m, and the business reported an operating loss of £36.2m, compared with a profit of £21.4m in 2019. CEO Will Kernan has said the business has since "recovered strongly".


Product

River Island is known for its trend led fashion ranges, all of which are designed in the UK at the retailer’s head office in London. In addition to its womenswear and menswear lines, River Island launched maternity in 2009, kidswear in 2010 and baby in 2018. In 2018, River Island briefly launched homeware, which was paused due to the pandemic in 2020. The River Island ecommerce site has also offered third party brands since 2018, including
Birkenstock Birkenstock Group B.V. & Co. KG is a German shoe manufacturer known for its production of Birkenstocks, a German brand of sandals and other shoes notable for their contoured cork footbeds (soles) made with layers of suede and jute, which conf ...
,
Superga Superga is a hill situated on the south bank of the river Po to the east of Turin in north-west Italy. At above sea level, it is one of the most prominent of the hills that ring the city. Superga is known for the Basilica of Superga and its ro ...
and
Skechers Skechers USA, Inc. is an American multinational footwear company. Headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, it was founded in 1992 and is now the third largest footwear brand in the United States. History Skechers was founded in 1992 by Rob ...
. In 2022, River Island also launched a third party beauty offering alongside its own small range of fragrances. Brands on offer include Revolution and Vita Liberata.


Partnerships


Celebrity collaborations


Rihanna for River Island

In 2013, pop-star Rihanna co-designed three collections for River Island alongside her personal stylist Adam Selman. The first collection was launched with a show at
London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...
in January 2013, with the last launching in November 2013. The range was well received, with many of the lines in each collection selling out.


River Island edited by

Sofia Richie Sofia Richie (born August 24, 1998) is an American social media personality, model, and fashion designer. She has been featured in campaigns by a number of major brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, and Adidas. She is the youngest da ...

In June 2022, River Island partnered with
Sofia Richie Sofia Richie (born August 24, 1998) is an American social media personality, model, and fashion designer. She has been featured in campaigns by a number of major brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, and Adidas. She is the youngest da ...
, the model, social media star and daughter of Lionel Richie. The summer capsule collection of styles featured a campaign shot in Richie’s native
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and was available in stores and online. 


Charity partnerships

River Island regularly collaborates with charities, recent fundraising collaborations include with the mental health awareness charity Mind and with
Fashion Targets Breast Cancer Fashion Targets Breast Cancer is a charity campaign originally launched in the UK in 1996 by Breakthrough Breast Cancer, and now operated under the charity's new name Breast Cancer Now. Corporate partners for the campaign represent famous high-st ...
– which featured a range of T-shirts raising funds for the Breast Cancer Now charity. Previously the company has also worked with
UK Black Pride UK Black Pride (UKBP) is a black gay pride event in London that has taken place since 2005. It is Europe's largest celebration of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Caribbean heritage lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and qu ...
,
Age UK Age UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 25 February 2009, and launched on 1 April 2009, which combined the operations of the previously separate charities Age Concern England and Help the Aged to form the UK's largest ch ...
and Place2Be


Graduate Fashion Week

River Island was a sponsor of Graduate Fashion Week for six years from 2005 to 2011, providing sponsorship and mentoring for undergraduates in creative courses.


London Fashion Week and the British Fashion Council

River Island has been a patron of the
British Fashion Council The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashi ...
and
London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...
since 2012. The scheme supports and promotes the British fashion industry. In 2021, the 'Music Meets Fashion' competition was held between River Island,
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, ICEBERG and the British Fashion Council. The competition asked fashion design students to create a collection fusing music, fashion and sustainability. The winner, Lucy Saunders, showed her collection at London Fashion Week February 2021 with a performance from UK singer
Griff Griff may refer to: People * Griff (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Griff (singer), stage name of English singer and songwriter Sarah Faith Griffiths (born 2001) * Nickname of Guy Griffiths (1915–1999), British Second ...
.


CSR and sustainability

In 2020 River Island launched a new sustainability strategy, based around 12 commitments aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Following this, River Island was named as one of the Top 10 Fastest Movers on the Fashion Transparency Index 2020.


Newlife Partnership

Alongside other charity initiatives, River Island has an ongoing relationship with Newlife, a charity that works to support disabled and terminally ill children. The charity was founded by former River Island MD Leonard Lewis in 1991. River Island donates stock to be recycled and resold, and in 2021, 850,000 garments were reused or recycled through the partnership. It also donates 100% of the UK carrier bag levy money to the charity, which has raised £3m since 2016.


Partnerships and pledges

River Island is a signatory to several sustainability pledges and partnerships, including the Bangladesh Accord, the
Carbon Trust The Carbon Trust was developed and launched in 1999-2001 as part of the development of the Climate Change Levy (CCL), a tax on business energy use that still operates today. The Carbon Trust was originally funded by around £50m of tax revenue ge ...
, WRAP and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. It also has pledged to use 100% more sustainable cotton by 2023, in partnership with the BCI. Most recently, River Island announced that it had joined the Microfibre Consortium, Canopy and became a signatory of the Textiles 2030 agreement.


References


External links

*{{official website, http://www.riverisland.com/ 1948 establishments in England Clothing brands of the United Kingdom Clothing retailers of Canada Clothing retailers of England Clothing retailers of Ireland Retail companies established in 1948 Retail companies based in London Private companies limited by guarantee of the United Kingdom 1948 establishments in the United Kingdom Companies established in 1948