In my line of work I always make a point of going into any footwear retailer on a regular basis particularly in my local area of Tunbridge Wells in Kent. It is with some sense of trepidation that I venture into retailers new to the town. All too often I am greeted by a disappointing offering that you just know will be displaying closing down sale signs a year later.

Ellie Dickins MSSF of Ellie Dickins Shoes of Hungerford, Berkshire the outgoing President said that she had enjoyed being President so much she would like to stay on for a longer term of office!

Global footwear brand ECCO has created an inspired range of high performance shoes - made from the skin of the Himalayan Yak.

The company has discovered that yak leather has extraordinary strength and durability – not least due to the fact that these hardy mountain ox live in the roughest, most challenging terrain in the world – surviving only by crossing rapids, hazardous swamps and scrambling up the harsh, mountainous landscape - often in sub-zero temperatures.

The UK’s largest out of town footwear specialist, just got bigger and better with the announcement that it will be offering customers online shopping. Brantano Footwear is devoted to footwear and accessories, and is known best for key seasonal trends, big brands, convenient open plan shopping and choice.

NEW Angel Feet Toeposts are a recent addition to DASCO’S popular Gel Cushion range. Already attracting a lot of interest, Angle Feet Toeposts are a dual purpose insole designed specifically for ‘Flip-Flop’ style footwear. With a toepost protector and half insole moulded seamlessly from lightweight polymar gel, they provide excellent cushioning for both the toes and the ball of the foot. Available in one size to fit all, these ‘invisible’, ultra-thin insoles have the added benefit of a textured top surface to help prevent the foot slipping.

TowerBrook Capital Partners and Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon have acquired the luxury shoe business from Lion Capital for an enterprise value of £185m. TowerBrook will be the lead investor and majority owner of the company. Gala Capital, the Spanish private equity firm, is also to invest in the transaction.

Riva Shoes enjoyed a successful launch of the Roberto Grevi range at the Munich Fair held from 13th to 16th April.

Managing Director Robert Cole said the response to the new high grade Roberto Grevi range, together with their main ballerina ranges and Tsonga shoes was very encouraging. This is the second time that Riva has exhibited at the show which had over 300 major brands present, mainly from Germany and Italy.

Nearly one-third of women find that standard size shoes are not wide enough for their feet, a new survey* reveals.

The poll, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK was carried out on behalf of the UK’s leading designer of fashionable footwear for women with wider feet and calves Emotion. It reported that of the women asked 31 per cent said that when buying shoes they found them too narrow.

Children’s shoe company Start-rite is pleased to announce the appointment of Joost Meijerink as its new International Sales Manager. Joost brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role, gained through 20 years of working with world-class manufacturing companies. He joins Start-rite from Safety Devices International, where he was responsible for worldwide sales to prestigious global brands such as Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin.

UK footwear independent Pavers has opened a new "concept store" at York Designer Outlet, at Naburn, Staccato, offers modern catwalk style footwear at discounts of up to 30 per cent.

It is the first of what is expected to be seven Staccato stores which will open this year, and will be among 50 shops which will be rolled out in the next five years.

Dr. Martens will be giving its customers the key to their FREEDM this Spring /Summer with a large-scale global sales promotion – Key to the City.

exposure devised Key to the City as a global concept to work in all relevant markets, responding to the global brief from Dr. Martens to drive sales instore and increase stock order purchase.

It’s springtime for retail! Retail Traffic Indexô figures from the retail research group, SPSL, released today show that, for the first time in 12 months, retail footfall is up year-on-year. In March the RTI stood 1.5% higher than for the same month in 2006; it also showed a 1.1% rise on February this year.

PUMA® French 77 collection made an exclusive appearance at Claridges, London, on the evening of Thursday 19th April. Model LEAH WOOD & Musician LEMAR made their catwalk debut together and teamed up with the global sportlifestyle brand PUMA® to launch French 77, a sports lifestyle collection that is inspired by the product worn by legendary playboy tennis star Guillermo Vilas in the late 70's, to model the collection on a catwalk. Top name celebrities such as Karen Millen, Freddie Ljungberg, Sara Macdonald, Dom Jolly, Nate James all attended the evening's party. Guest were treated to catwalk opening music by electronic violinist and model Linzi Stoppard and a DJ set by Dimitri From Paris with support from Blue Boy & Deep Sensation.

The past four years’ recession seriously hit the leather and footwear technology sector, which reached its lowest ebb in 2005. 2006 saw the beginning of what we could call the phase of readjustment and the end-of-year data confirm that the recovery is underway.

These super colourful charms have the most amazing detail, they are easy to insert and the variety of designs offer great fun for all ages.

Shoe-Doodle brands that are currently HOT FOOTING their way off the shelves include:- Betty Boop, Garfield, Peanuts and Care Bears, along with other licensed characters.

After seventeen years as President of BFMF and then Chairman of BFA, Paul Sargent has stepped down. He remains on the Board of BFA and his fellow directors thanked him most warmly for the huge time commitment he has given to the task of successfully steering the Association through great changes in the industry. His successor is Philip Luckett, Executive Chairman of Dunkelman & Son Ltd, and the Vice Chairman is Andrew Loake, MD of Loake Bros Ltd.

Training - The importance of product knowledge.

There is little doubt that well trained staff, whether they be shop staff serving the public, stocking the shelves or supervising the department, or salesmen selling shoes to the retailers, or indeed the buyers, merchandisers and technical staff at the retailers themselves, will all benefit from additional skills, knowledge and understanding of product, process and procedures.

When proceedings have been issued, most company directors are likely to share the view of the American social commentator Ambrose Bierce who said that "Litigation is a machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage."

We had a celebrity in the shop last week, or at least I was told we did, since I had never heard of him. I was standing by the door when he came in so I served him myself. I felt the buzz of excitement behind my back but was too busy serving the object of it to understand what was going on.

A footwear collection showing originality, environmental commitment and above all, social commitment’ is the description of the new Ipanema Sandals Collection. Combine this with the fact that one of the most famous supermodels in the world is involved in the collection and Footwear Today went to talk to David J. Millidge, Director of UK Agents Glass Footwear to find out more…

Everyone’s feet are different in shape, size and width, this simple truth lies at the heart of what makes specialist manufacturer DB Shoes Ltd so successful. No other company offers retailers such an extensive choice of styles over so many widths making DB’s ‘easy b’ range of shoes the perfect fit for wider feet!

The Comfort Shoe Shop has been stocking DB’s ‘easy b’ range of footwear for over a decade, since it was introduced, as owner Geoffrey Gook explains: "Speaking as a retailer, DB have consistently delivered a good quality product at competitive prices. We cater for a niche market, as our name suggests, and ‘easy b’ shoes meet our customer’s specific needs and look great at point of sale."

Stock backed – stylish and comfortable – a winning combination

Everyone knows that comfort is key – everyone knows that style is what draws the customers into the shops – but the key to profitability is low stockholding a high stock turn

Fit and comfort best describe the Sandpiper range. As footwear becomes increasingly mass-produced, the term ‘comfort’ is being attached to all types of footwear, whereas with Sandpiper, comfort is in the design, right from the very conception of a new style. A comfortable shoe has to fit correctly, and likewise, the Sandpiper range incorporates design features that ensure the fit is unique.

Twenty five years ago, footwear for swollen and wide feet was hard if not impossible to find. People often had to put up with pain and reduced mobility. Some even cut holes in their shoes to make them wearable or buy expensive custom orthopaedic footwear. It was to meet this need that Cosyfeet began trading in 1984. In 1991 Cosyfeet was bought by Foot Shop Ltd, itself owned by former Clarks manager David Price.

Wearing your jeans on your feet is environmentally friendly on a number of levels, according to a Cumbria-based shoemaker who claims to be both sane and sober.

One of the handful of shoemaking companies still manufacturing in the UK, Softwalker Ltd has launched a new range of eco-friendly shoes and sandals based on recycled denim jeans.

Paradox London boast three bridal shoe brands; award winning designer collection Benjamin Adams, fashionable and affordable Pink and the latest contemporary range just launched Belle.

Voted by the Retail Bridal Association Paradox won the Best Accessories Supplier within the industry for excellence in service.

RETAIL

Branches, Concessions, Franchises, whatever your method of retailing, Fashion Master provides total control and delivers maximum information at the Point of Sale.

Bossy Boots is an ambitious and growing footwear retailer based in the north-east of England, with four stores in Blackburn, Preston and Ashton-under-Lyne. To tie in with expansion plans, it was looking for a reliable, fully featured EPOS system for their business, when a friend recommended Actinic EPOS (www.actinic.co.uk/epos).

Top to Toe is a stock management, EPoS till and customer tracking system for the independent footwear retailer that moulds itself to the way you work. It is powerful, easy use, configurable and is designed to control one or many shops.

Something of a secret within the footwear industry and yet with a dedicated cult following, Eurostop is a major supplier of retail systems with high profile customers including, Pavers Shoes, Oliver Sweeney, Peter Newman Shoes, Ben Sherman, Pentland, Paul Byron Shoes, Mimi, Hi–Tec, DAKS. Founded in 1990, Eurostop provides complete solutions for retail management covering both hardware and software.

Reflecting its increased focus on the rapidly growing e-commerce and home shopping sectors, FKI Logistex® has announced the successful completion of a £6 million project for the Internet shoe and apparel retailer - Zappos.com®. This contract called for a global leader in integrated material handling solutions to design, supply, install and integrate an extensive automated handling system at a major new primary distribution centre.

Didcot, 11th April 2007 FOOTASYLUM, a fast-growing chain of high-end casual footwear and apparel retail stores, has commissioned K3 to design and implement an entire suite of retail management solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics.

March, 29 2007 – Shop and Display Equipment Association (sdea) today announces LogBuy as a key provider of their Member Benefits. Sdea is at the heart of retail display, encouraging retailers and suppliers to create effective retail environments. Sdea has member companies who specialise in the manufacture and distribution of shopfittings and display.

HL Display, a leading global provider of merchandising solutions and in-store communications, has launched the innovative shelf management system to revolutionise category planning for retailers. Available now, the new EasyShelfTM is a complete merchandising and shelf-edge communication solution, allowing retailers to make changes to the planogram quickly and efficiently - up to four times faster than before.

Specialist acrylic manufacturers, Pennant Shop Equipment have been supplying the retail industry with acrylic display equipment for over 27 years.

With an extensive range of standard products ranging from boot stands to handbag displays and sandal fillers to jewellery stands – you can be sure that Pennant can make your display stand out from all the rest!

As we are all aware, the footwear business presents all the same challenges as the ever-changing fashion industry. To name but a few, these include rapidly changing demands, seasonal shifts and the need for a smooth and effective route from manufacturer right through to the retailer.

Kerry Logistics' effective Supply Chain Management means delivering a seamless and integrated range of services that bring tangible results to cost efficiency, customer satisfaction and bottom-line results. The key to the success of Kerry’s service is our own people providing hands-on expertise in both the UK and Asia, particularly in China.

New airfreight and seafreight services specially designed for small to medium –sized (SME) footwear manufacturers in Latin America, South Asia and the UK have been launched recently.

INSOLVENCY DETAILS

Message Date: 9 March 2007. Registered Number: 03049221
Subject: FORTUNE 14 LIMITED
The London Gazette dated Thu Mar 8, 2007 published the following public record information against the subject: Appointment of Liquidator by Members and Creditors