River Island woes…
Sad to see another major fashion retailer in trouble. With 33 stores to close and 71 shops asking for the landlords to reduce the rents, and with an eye watering loss of over 30 million in recent times, is there any wonder they are in this situation? All this is to be set before the High Court imminently. And if that fails, will they go into administration? Many employees will be affected. It’s devastating not only for the workers, but for the retail industry job losses as a whole. With this in mind I took a walk down to my local store. I was greeted by two huge ‘up to 50% off sale’ posters. On browsing I found more than 50% off on certain items. Still I wasn’t tempted. It’s not a brand that I buy from (ever), finding their styles don’t suit and prices expensive for a High Street chain in comparison to other High Street retailers. Also, I’m not understanding why the River Island name is such a major feature on its bags, purses etc, and at a high price too. I mean, why on earth would I walk around with the River Island name brandished against my person? Obviously, they are copying high-end brands, but they are not high–end.
An example of the River Island logo across a product, not high-end so like why??
To note, their products for the High Street are good quality, that is the one thing I would say that justifies the upward price . But considering their precarious position, it’s not working, is it? With the acceleration of online fashion brands at a much lower price, it is competition they certainly can’t keep up with. River Island was previously Chelsea girl, a store that I absolutely loved during my teenage years. I’ve never shopped there since it became River Island. It just doesn’t appeal to me. During my recent visit I did spot a white blouse that I liked, but for £56! Even if it’s cotton and nicely designed, I would be looking at tops paying around £30. So on that basis it looks like for now the nail is firmly in their coffin, unless they change radically the stores will not survive. I’m guessing in the future it will be mainly online, and if they fail another company buying their brand name, which does have worth because of its longevity and quality. River Island needs to innovate and think ‘future forward’, failing to do so it is guaranteed that they will join a very long list of shutdown shops. A sad but harsh reality of today’s High Street, so the battle continues.