River Island to shut distribution centre amid coronavirus crackdown

The fashion retailer has begun preparations to shut its distribution centre in Milton Keynes indefinitely from the end of this week.

The company said it would be fulfilling all outstanding online orders before closing its fulfilment centre but no new orders would be processed until its distribution centre reopens.

River Island is the latest fashion and clothing retailer to decide to temporarily shut down its ecommerce platform in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus, with Moss Bros, Schuh and Net-a-Porter all taking similar measures today.

River Island chief executive Will Kernan said: “I am proud of the dedication of the River Island workforce in response to the huge challenges that we are all facing. The difficult choices we have made are to protect the health of our employees who are crucial to the long-term success of our business. I am saddened that this decision will have an impact on customers and partners and apologise for the inconvenience that they will experience until we re-pen.

”I cannot say how long this closure is likely to remain in place; however, we will be working to reopen as quickly as possible whilst strictly following government advice to ensure the safety of our communities.

“In the meantime, I would encourage customers to join our online social community where we will be in regular contact to ensure that we all stay connected and everyone can be updated about developments.”