High-street Retailers Face Violence, Unrest Across U.K.

LONDON — Several high-street retailers have fallen victim to far-right, anti-immigrant protests and widespread looting, which have been spreading across Britain over the past week.

The nationwide unrest began last week in Southport, Lancashire, after the fatal stabbings of three girls attending a dance class. It escalated following misinformation on social media about the identity of the perpetrator.

The worst outbreaks of violence have been in Belfast, Plymouth and Birmingham. Nearly 400 people have been arrested.

On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government would “take all necessary action” to bring the ongoing riots to an end. “We need to be calling it out for what it is. It is not protest. It is violent disorder and needs to be treated as such.”

The riots have been affecting retailers, too.

A Lush store in Hull, a port city on the northeast coast, was ransacked on Saturday.

In a video trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Lush store can be seen being raided by teenagers and adults, and the windows of a nearby store were smashed.

In another post, a picture showed two women, presumably in their mid-20s, laughing outside the store, one with a basket full of Lush cosmetic products and the other holding several pairs of Crocs.

Kasey Swithenbank, head of retail at Lush in the U.K. and Ireland, told WWD that the Hull location closed early on Saturday after reports of rising tensions locally.

“We had about 70 percent of our stock either stolen or smashed against the walls, technology broken and taken, and damage to the building itself. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and what we’re seeing now is the Hull community coming together in support. We’re just thankful to everybody so far who has reached out with their support and very kind offers of help,” she added.

Swithenbank said the police arrived on Saturday evening, dispersed the crowds, cordoned off the area, and patrolled throughout the night. After cleaning up the next morning, the store was able to fully restock within 24 hours with help from the Lush team from Poole.

Following the widespread chaos, she hopes that the streets across the U.K. can return to peace again.

“The violence and intimidation that people of color are experiencing affects the whole of our society. People are terrified to go out at the moment, so all retailers are expecting a drop in footfall. We need the rioters quickly dealt with by the police and judicial system, but beyond that, we need all political parties and the media to change the discourse around race, religion, and immigration in order for all the citizens of our country to feel safe, protected and valued,” she said.

In a bigger picture, Swithenbank said Lush has been concerned about the hostile rhetoric used around the subject of immigration. 

“We have run public campaigns on this issue and have also raised our concerns whenever we have met with Members of Parliament. The valuable role that migrants play in this country is essential, including in our own business. Lush as a brand stands against these riots,” she added.

High-street fixtures such as Greggs bakery; Iceland, the frozen food store; Sainsbury’s supermarket; Shoezone, and optical store Specsavers, fell victim as well.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive officer of British Retail Consortium, which represents more than 200 major players and thousands of smaller, independent retailers in the country, said many retail workers have been heading to work “fearing their stores, and their safety, could be compromised by the looting and vandalism.”

She said “some are already seeing the impact, as they spend their day cleaning up the damage caused by these selfish and criminal acts. Teams of retail colleagues across the industry work tirelessly, side by side to serve customers day in and day out, performing a vital role across all local communities. This is only possible if colleagues and customers can safely visit their local stores,” she added.

Dickinson emphasized that the full force of the law should be brought to bear on those individuals who are committing criminal damage and theft against retailers and their communities.

“At the BRC, we’re taking steps to support our members, providing a forum for retailers to discuss how to keep teams safe, protect businesses and communicate with customers. We’re also engaging with the police in order to provide information and advice to retailers,” she said.