However, as part of the shopping centre's ongoing programme of refurbishment, the retailer will be moving to a new, 9,110 square foot space in a more prominent position. The new anchor store will be located by the main entrance to the centre and is scheduled to open later this year.
The new River Island store is just one of many new offerings at The Grafton Centre. Legal & General Real Assets and Wrenbridge, who bought the centre in 2015, have spent £28.5 million renovating it, with the final phase of the project about to come to an end. Improvements to the centre, which is just a five-minute walk from Cambridge city centre, have included the construction of a new glazed roof and the creation of a dedicated dining quarter. A number of new stores have opened, including a branch of Decathlon, the French-owned sports clothing and equipment chain. A new Pure Gym is also set to open there by the end of 2018.
River Island isn't the only retailer to have upgraded to a larger space either. Costa Coffee has moved to a space twice the size of its original premises, while H&M has relocated its clothing store and opened a new H&M Home store next to it. Whilst Debenhams will remain in its original location, it will be transformed into a digitally-enhanced "Beauty Halls of the Future".
At the end of September, River Island announced its profits had dropped by 40 percent in the year to December 2017, while sales fell by 3 percent in the same period. However, the retailer has been investing heavily in developing its online platform. It's also continuing to invest in its bricks-and-mortar stores. In April 2018, the company announced that it would be opening five new flagship shops before the end of the year, the first of which opened that month, at the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds.
In addition, River Island expanded its product offering last month, launching a new 165-piece homeware collection to complement its clothing ranges.
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Like many others, I’ve often wondered if Utopia - the ideal place - really exists. Then I discovered that it recently opened at Spurriergate in York.
