Riots hit retailers across the UK

Three nights of rioting in London spread to Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham on Tuesday, leaving British retailers in fear of vandalism, looting and arson costs that could rise into tens of millions of pounds.

In Greater Manchester, rioters set the Miss Selfridge store in Market Street alight. Diesel, Foot Asylum, Marks & Spencer and Salford Shopping City—home to New Look and Peacocks—also came under attack by as many as 2,000 people.

700-800 rioters, many of them young, overran Birmingham’s main shopping district, smashing Adidas, A|X Armani Exchange and Pandora shop windows. Earlier in the week, rioters smashed windows on the city’s Louis Vuitton store; no looters gained entrance and no goods were stolen.

London remained quiet on Tuesday after three nights of unrest as 16,000 police officers patrolled the city streets. Stores across the city closed early and enacted precautionary measures. On Bond Street, Chanel boarded up its shop front, while exclusive jewellers and luxury stores removed stock from windows and stationed extra guards at entrances. Most stores vandalised elsewhere in the city, including Smythson, Kurt Geiger and H&M, whose Brixton and Wood Green stores were targeted on Monday night, have reopened.

‘Given the situation, the most important thing is the safety of our staff and our customers,’ H&M spokesperson Laura Maggs said. ‘Things are changing every day. We continue to monitor developments closely and take guidance from the local police and authorities.’

Debenhams’s Clapham store remained closed into Wednesday, as a police cordon is still in place and staff hasn’t had access