When River Island announced that they are partnering up with Rihanna on a special collection last month, I had a suspicion that there was something bigger behind it. Despite having 300 stores at home and abroad, River Island still isn't as well known internationally as other British high street stores like Topshop. Their partnership with Rihanna, then, sounded like part of a bigger plan to raise their profile international and considering today's reports, it looks like I was on to something.

Today the Independent confirmed that the retailer plans to follow in the footsteps of Topshop by opening their first US store in New York's Manhattan next year. At the moment there's still no word about the exact date but considering that Rihanna's collection for them drops early next year, it's pretty safe to assume that the big opening will coincide with the launch. The only big question now is whether Rih Rih will pose in their shop window, Kate Moss style.