River Island doubles the size of its intu Lakeside store

River Island has opened a new flagship store at intu Lakeside following owner intu’s multi-million-pound investment to transform the popular shopping destination.

The retailer has doubled the size of its previous store as intu completes work on a £72m leisure-led extension of the centre which has attracted a range of new brands and is expected to boost footfall by more than 2m people according to CACI.

Frances Baker, property director at River Island, commented: “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.”

Last March, Zara opened one of its largest stores there and intu Lakeside’s tenants have invested around £9m on new stores, refits and refurbishments during the first months of 2019 alone. A total of £28m has been spent over the last two years.

Rebecca Ryman, regional managing director at intu, said: “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.”