River Island is set to close its Oxford Street store in Swansea, it is understood.
The store is expected to shut in September, with a staff consultation under way.
Sale signs offering “up to 50% off” and further reductions currently fill the store’s windows.
River Island was approached for comment on 3 July and again this week, but did not provide a comment for publication.
The closure would not come as a surprise. The chain’s Swansea and Llanelli stores were identified as under pressure last summer when River Island pushed through a rescue plan involving rent reductions and a programme of store closures across the UK.
The family-owned retailer, founded in 1948 and once trading as Chelsea Girl, has been battling the same pressures squeezing fashion chains across Britain — online competition, rising costs and falling footfall.
For Oxford Street, it is the second big-name departure in a matter of weeks — and the timing carries a bitter symmetry, because the River Island store sits directly opposite the former M&S flagship, which closed on 30 May after 69 years on the street.
TGJones — the rebranded WHSmith — remains in limbo while landlord rent deals are negotiated, and Shoe Zone’s Swansea branch has been under review as the chain closes stores nationally.
But the street’s story is not one-way traffic. Charlotte Tilbury opened at the Quadrant this month as one of only two stores in Wales. Danish homeware brand Søstrene Grene drew queues from 7.30am when it opened on Princess Way last month — the brand’s busiest UK launch yet. And Centurion Group is on the brink of naming three tenants for the former Debenhams.
There is even a new neighbour immediately next door — Popeyes drew 18-hour queues when it opened its Louisiana chicken restaurant beside the River Island unit last October.
The unit itself is one of Oxford Street’s most prominent, a large double-fronted store on the street’s main run.
The chain is expected to keep a presence in the city, however — it is understood the Morfa Retail Park store, which opened as one of River Island’s new-format branches in May 2022, will remain open.
Swansea Council has been working to reposition the city centre away from pure retail, with the Copr Bay arena, the new £1-an-hour car park opening this month, and the Civic Centre waterfront plans all part of that pitch.
Council leader Rob Stewart has previously said the council remains in talks with major retailers about the city centre, including M&S about a possible return in a different format.
This story will be updated when River Island responds.
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