Latest news with #IanWest
Glasgow Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Hundreds of jobs at risk as River Island plans store closures
The retailer has unveiled a radical restructuring plan in a bid to reverse recent heavy losses due to a slump in trading. Bosses blamed the closures on the 'migration of shoppers from the high street to online' and higher costs to run stores. The retailer has 230 shops across the UK (Ian West/PA) The family-owned retailer confirmed it is proposing to close 33 of its 230 stores by January next year as a result. A further 71 stores are also at risk depending on talks with landlords in order to secure improved rental deals. The retailer, which employs around 5,500 people, was founded in 1948 under the Lewis and Chelsea Girl brand before being renamed in the 1980s. It has reportedly hired advisers from PwC in order to oversee the restructuring process. The proposals are set to go to a vote by the firm's creditors – companies or individuals owed money by the retailer – in August. The deal will result in fresh funding being invested into the business in order to help fuel its turnaround. Ben Lewis, chief executive of River Island, said: 'River Island is a much-loved retailer, with a decades-long history on the British high street. 'However, the well-documented migration of shoppers from the high street to online has left the business with a large portfolio of stores that is no longer aligned to our customers' needs. 'The sharp rise in the cost of doing business over the last few years has only added to the financial burden. 'We have a clear strategy to transform the business to ensure its long-term viability. 'Recent improvements in our fashion offer and in-store shopping experience are already showing very positive results, but it is only with a restructuring plan that we will be able to see this strategy through and secure River Island's future as a profitable retail business. 'We regret any job losses as a result of store closures, and we will try to keep these to a minimum.' The retailer is among high street fashion chains to have been impacted by weaker consumer spending and competition from cheaper online rivals, such as Shein. River Island fell to a £33.2 million loss in 2023 after sales slid by 19%, according to its most recent set of accounts.
Western Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Hundreds of jobs at risk as River Island plans store closures
The retailer has unveiled a radical restructuring plan in a bid to reverse recent heavy losses due to a slump in trading. Bosses blamed the closures on the 'migration of shoppers from the high street to online' and higher costs to run stores. The retailer has 230 shops across the UK (Ian West/PA) The family-owned retailer confirmed it is proposing to close 33 of its 230 stores by January next year as a result. A further 71 stores are also at risk depending on talks with landlords in order to secure improved rental deals. The retailer, which employs around 5,500 people, was founded in 1948 under the Lewis and Chelsea Girl brand before being renamed in the 1980s. It has reportedly hired advisers from PwC in order to oversee the restructuring process. The proposals are set to go to a vote by the firm's creditors – companies or individuals owed money by the retailer – in August. The deal will result in fresh funding being invested into the business in order to help fuel its turnaround. Ben Lewis, chief executive of River Island, said: 'River Island is a much-loved retailer, with a decades-long history on the British high street. 'However, the well-documented migration of shoppers from the high street to online has left the business with a large portfolio of stores that is no longer aligned to our customers' needs. 'The sharp rise in the cost of doing business over the last few years has only added to the financial burden. 'We have a clear strategy to transform the business to ensure its long-term viability. 'Recent improvements in our fashion offer and in-store shopping experience are already showing very positive results, but it is only with a restructuring plan that we will be able to see this strategy through and secure River Island's future as a profitable retail business. 'We regret any job losses as a result of store closures, and we will try to keep these to a minimum.' The retailer is among high street fashion chains to have been impacted by weaker consumer spending and competition from cheaper online rivals, such as Shein. River Island fell to a £33.2 million loss in 2023 after sales slid by 19%, according to its most recent set of accounts.
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Jessie J promises to ‘beat' breast cancer in a speech at Summertime Ball
The 37-year-old, best known for her hit song Price Tag, recently announced in an Instagram video that she has been diagnosed with early breast cancer. The singer, who took the stage at Capital's Summertime Ball on Sunday, added that it would be her final performance before her surgery. Jessie J backstage during Capital's Summertime Ball with Barclaycard, at Wembley Stadium, London (Ian West/PA) The singer said: 'Today, this show, is my last show before I go and beat breast cancer. 'This is so special to me, you have no idea. 'I feel so proud to be feeling okay, to be this honest person where you say what you feel, and this being my last show before I go and have surgery. 'This is the most special thing and I'm so grateful for this life, for you guys, for my career, my son, my partner, my parents, my family, my band, my crew, my people.' The singer, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, performed her hit songs at Wembley Stadium including Domino, Price Tag, Do it Like A Dude and Bang Bang. Jessie J attending the 2025 Bafta Television Awards (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The London-born singer has battled with ill health throughout her life, having been diagnosed with a heart condition aged eight, suffering a minor stroke aged 18 and having briefly gone deaf in 2020. She welcomed her son, Sky Safir Cornish Colman, in 2023, having miscarried in November 2021. When she shared her diagnosis, she said she made the decision to make the news public to help her process it and to show solidarity with others who are going through a similar experience, adding that she had recently spent a lot of time 'in and out of tests'. The singer-songwriter has had three number one songs in the UK singles charts with Domino, Price Tag, and Bang Bang. She was awarded four Mobo awards in 2011 including Best UK Act, Best Newcomer, Best Song for Do It Like A Dude and Best Album with Who You Are and won the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2011.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Jessie J promises to ‘beat' breast cancer in a speech at Summertime Ball
The singer, who took the stage at Capital's Summertime Ball on Sunday, added that it would be her final performance before her surgery. Jessie J backstage during Capital's Summertime Ball with Barclaycard, at Wembley Stadium, London (Ian West/PA) The singer said: 'Today, this show, is my last show before I go and beat breast cancer. 'This is so special to me, you have no idea. 'I feel so proud to be feeling okay, to be this honest person where you say what you feel, and this being my last show before I go and have surgery. 'This is the most special thing and I'm so grateful for this life, for you guys, for my career, my son, my partner, my parents, my family, my band, my crew, my people.' The singer, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, performed her hit songs at Wembley Stadium including Domino, Price Tag, Do it Like A Dude and Bang Bang. Jessie J attending the 2025 Bafta Television Awards (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The London-born singer has battled with ill health throughout her life, having been diagnosed with a heart condition aged eight, suffering a minor stroke aged 18 and having briefly gone deaf in 2020. She welcomed her son, Sky Safir Cornish Colman, in 2023, having miscarried in November 2021. When she shared her diagnosis, she said she made the decision to make the news public to help her process it and to show solidarity with others who are going through a similar experience, adding that she had recently spent a lot of time 'in and out of tests'. The singer-songwriter has had three number one songs in the UK singles charts with Domino, Price Tag, and Bang Bang. She was awarded four Mobo awards in 2011 including Best UK Act, Best Newcomer, Best Song for Do It Like A Dude and Best Album with Who You Are and won the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2011.
South Wales Argus
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement
Filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the complaint claims Midjourney pirated the libraries of the two Hollywood studios to generate and distribute 'endless unauthorised copies' of their famed characters, such as Darth Vader from Star Wars and the Minions from Despicable Me. 'Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism. Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing,' the companies state in the complaint. The studios also claimed the San Francisco-based AI company ignored their requests to stop infringing on their copyrighted works and to take technological measures to halt such image generation. Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Minions attending the Despicable Me 3 launch (Ian West/PA) In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Midjourney CEO David Holz described his image-making service as 'kind of like a search engine' pulling in a wide swath of images from across the internet. He compared copyright concerns about the technology with how such laws have adapted to human creativity. 'Can a person look at somebody else's picture and learn from it and make a similar picture?' Mr Holz said. 'Obviously, it's allowed for people and if it wasn't, then it would destroy the whole professional art industry, probably the nonprofessional industry too. 'To the extent that AIs are learning like people, it's sort of the same thing and if the images come out differently then it seems like it's fine.' Major AI developers do not typically disclose their data sources, but have argued that taking troves of publicly accessible online text, images and other media to train their AI systems is protected by the 'fair use' doctrine of American copyright law. The case joins a growing number of lawsuits filed against developers of AI platforms — such as OpenAI, Anthropic — in San Francisco and New York. Meanwhile, the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry is under way in London, pitting Getty Images against artificial intelligence company Stability AI.
