River Island expands Intu Lakeside store

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 21, 2019

River Island has doubled the size of its Intu Lakeside store to 21,000 sq ft following recent upsizes there by Zara, H&M and Next.

Fashion brands are keen on taking more space at the shopping destination ahead of the opening of a 175,000 sq ft leisure-led expansion later this year. The expansion is expected to boost footfall by more than 2 million people, according to CACI.

In fact, Zara opened one of its largest stores in the country there in March, and Intu Lakeside tenants have invested around £9 million in new stores, refits and refurbishments during the first months of 2019.

River Island said the £72 million extension was a factor in its decision to expand the store.

“River Island is delighted to have doubled the size of its current retail space at Intu Lakeside. The combination of a loyal and high-spending customer base, vibrant retail mix and the enhanced leisure offer make it the perfect location to create a new and exciting flagship,” commented Frances Baker, property director at River Island.

Rebecca Ryman, regional managing director at Intu, added: “We’ve invested millions to create even more opportunities for retailers and leisure operators to flourish at what is already one of the country’s most popular shopping destinations.

“More and more brands are investing at intu Lakeside because they know they will perform so well here, with River Island the latest big name to select the centre for one of its largest ever sites.”