River Island executive chair Richard Bradbury stands down as new boss is named

River Island announced today that Bradbury is stepping down from his role as executive chair due to “personal circumstances”.

This comes after Bradbury returned as the boss of the business in December 2022, 12 years after departing River Island initially.

The fashion retailer has also confirmed that former chief executive officer Ben Lewis will be returning to the business as chief executive, having previously been at the helm for almost a decade until 2019.

River Island chair Clive Lewis will also resume his former role of non-executive chair and all changes at the fashion retailer are expected to take place with immediate effect.

Bradbury said: “It has been a great honour to have worked in this amazing business twice. The River Island team is incredible, and during the last two years, we have achieved so much together to position the business for its next phase.

“I know that River Island will be in strong and capable hands under the experienced leadership of Ben, who knows the business inside out.”

Lewis said of his appointment: “I am excited to be rejoining River Island at such a pivotal time. Richard has built a great team, and I look forward to working with them to continue to develop the business and capture the many opportunities ahead.”

River Island chair Clive Lewis said: “Richard steps down having made a strong impact on the business, and the Board is extremely grateful for his leadership. With Ben’s deep history with River Island, there is no question that he is the right person to lead the company into its next chapter.”

The news comes after it was reported last month that River Island had drafted in consultants at AlixPartners to work on a “cost reduction and profit improvement exercise”.

In its most recent trading update for the 52 weeks to December 30, 2023, River Island posted a 15.1% decline in revenue to £701.5m, down from £825.8m in the previous year.

River Island also swung to a loss before tax of £32.2m during the period, down from a profit of £7.5m in 2022.