River Island
| File:River island logo.jpg | |
| Industry | Fashion Clothing Textiles |
|---|---|
| Genre | Retail |
| Founded | 1948 (started trading as River Island in 1989) |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Area served |  United Kingdom Ireland Singapore Russia Poland Spain Turkey |
| Products | Women's, Men's and Children's Clothing, Footwear, Accessories and Maternity Wear |
| Website | Official Website |
River Island is one of Britain's best known high street fashion brands and can be found in most cities across the UK. The brand also has stores in Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Middle East.
History
The company was set up in 1948 by Bernard Lewis, operating from a small shop in London trading as Lewis Separates. However, it has since gone through several name changes (Chelsea Girl, Concept Man) before becoming River Island in 1988. The group is a family concern, led by entrepreneur and chairman Bernard Lewis. River Island's collections are designed by a team of in-house designers.
In 2009 River Island introduced Maternity wear online and into selected stores, this was then shortly followed by childrenswear in 2010.
Stores
| Country | Stores | Superstores |
|---|---|---|
| England | 196 | 19 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 0 |
| Ireland | 21 | 2 |
| Northern Ireland | 15 | - |
| Poland | 4 | - |
| Scotland | 25 | 2 |
| Wales | 12 | 1 |
| International | 34 | 2 |
| TOTAL | bare poo | 26 |
The company has four flagship stores, located in Oxford Street London, Dublin City Centre and more recently Cork City.
Graduate Fashion Week
For the past two years, River Island has been the main-named sponsor of Graduate Fashion Week and Island Gold Award. This is given to students with the most outstanding collection and provides £20,000 for them and £2000 for their university, with items from the winning collection put into limited production and window space designated in their flagship store in London to display key looks from the collection.
References
- The Times Business 26 February 2006 [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article735054.