The story of River Island begins in 1948, when Bernard Lewis started selling fruit and vegetables, and later knitting wool, from a bombed–out site in the East End of London. He was joined by his three brothers, and they soon had nine stores branded as Lewis Separates. By 1968 they had 70, and the chain was renamed Chelsea Girl to take advantage of the 'Swinging London' zeitgeist.
According to Wikipedia, Chelsea Girl was the UK's first fashion retail chain – but someone has put a "citation needed" tag on this claim.
By 1982 two of the brothers had left the business, which had expanded to cover hotels, property and investments. Bernard was running the retail operation, while his brother David managed the other businesses. At this point the company launched a chain of menswear stores, branded as Concept Man. This was merged with Chelsea Girl in 1988 to form River Island.
© Haydn Thompson 2021