History
The company was set up in 1948 by brothers Andrew Hunt and 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. Childrenswear known as "Boys & Girls" has proved very popular and is now being rolled out across most UK stores.
Stores
| Country | Stores | Superstores |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 244 | 24 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 |
| Ireland | 22 | 2 |
| Poland | 9 | - |
| International | 30 | - |
| TOTAL | 306 | 27 |
The company has four flagship stores, located in Oxford Street London, Manchester City Centre, Dublin City Centre and more recently Cork City.
Graduate Fashion Week
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.
In 2010, River Island announced it would end its sponsorship deal with Graduate Fashion Week, this being the website The store has sponsored the event for the past six years, but now Graduate Fashion Week is looking for a new sponsor.
Official website
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