River Island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.[2]
This article is about the fashion brand. For the location in the Falkland Islands, see River Island, Falkland Islands. For the topographical formation within a river, see river island and ait.Company type
1948: Lewis Separates
Bernard Lewis and brothers
Head Office: West London Tech Hub: East London
Will Kernan (CEO)
Bernard Lewis (Founder, President)
Clive Lewis (Deputy Chairman, son of Bernard Lewis)
Ben Lewis (Non-Executive, nephew of Bernard Lewis)
Vanessa Lewis(Creative Director, Bernard's wife)
Leonard Lewis (Non-Executive, son of Bernard Lewis)
Women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear, sportswear and accessories
£879.5m (2019)[1]
£52.5m (as EBITDA) (2019)[1]
Families of Bernard and David Lewis
Lewis Trust Group
Womenswear, menswear, kidswear
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.[3] In the 1960s, it became an influential name in the womenswear fashion scene, under its previous name: Chelsea Girl.[4]
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.[2] In recent years, the business has expanded internationally, and continued to grow its online offer.
River Island is a private company, and remains fully owned by the Lewis family.
Product[edit]
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.[33]
The River Island ecommerce site has also offered third party brands since 2018, including Birkenstock, Superga and Skechers.
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.