Those still, balmy evenings, the enchanting slanted light filtering through the swollen foliage of the native trees. The vague, faint yet contented smiles touching the corners of those people you meet and greet as they stroll on through the warm breeze; magic. 

Gola Classics, the original British sports brand, will open its first stand alone retail outlet in the UK on 2nd May 2008. The striking new store is located on the world renowned Carnaby St and has adopted a timeless look by incorporating modern design attributes with snippets of heritage imagery and some rare archive samples.

St Albans, UK - March 5, 2008 - Cushe®, the independent lifestyle footwear brand has appointed two new marketing specialists to help drive the future growth of the brand, and increase awareness amongst consumers and trade. With immediate effect, Ciaran Henderson and Oiwah Chong have been appointed to the roles of Marketing and Events Manager and Marketing and Communications Manger respectively. Both will report to Martin Dean, Managing Director.

Following the success of the inaugural ‘Forget Me Not' walk in 2007, Hotter Comfort Concept has teamed up with Leukaemia Research to raise more money for this worthwhile charity. The previous ‘Forget Me Not' walk raised £25,000, so why not join the race and give a little back this season.

Men's footwear brand, Base London, have boosted their sales force with the addition of Nathan Cooper. Nathan joins the brand from Kangaroos and takes up the position of Sales Executive.

Successful footwear brand Geox will soon be celebrating the opening of its second stand-alone store in the UK. The new store will be opening in the middle of May 2008 in London's famous shopping and theatre land, Covent Garden.

Latest figures from the Retail Traffic Index (RTI) by analysts SPSL, now part of global research company Synovate, show that the number of non-food shopping trips in April was 4.0% fewer than for the same month in 2007, but was up by 2.9% on March.

Chatham Marine's Stand FP24 at this year's Moda offers the first opportunity to see the new designs and meet the new management and sales team established since the company was purchased by the Stuart Marsh Group in November 2007.

The granddaughter of one of the first women to ever work at GDS has been credited with an eight-fold increase in European orders for a North East footwear firm.

NEC, Birmingham - 23 April 2008:  Security is still the highest priority for transatlantic freight corridor, and at the first day of the Multimodal 2008 Event at the NEC Birmingham, shippers and service providers on both sides of the Atlantic called on Governments to assess security initiatives from a cost benefit point of view.

Our population is shrinking in height; in pain almost daily; injury is on the increase; we're missing work and we're low in body confidence. New research suggests that urbanisation, flattening out our natural landscape into concrete city landscapes, is to blame.

At its Annual General Meeting on 29 April, the Shop and Display Equipment Association elected Geoff Fairfield, Managing Director of Fairfield Displays & Lighting Ltd as President and Nick Wraith, Managing Director of United Aluminium Ltd as Vice President.  Ronald Cohen, Managing Director of Foxbarn Ltd becomes Immediate Past President.

Rieker's brilliant new children's range has fused the best elements of trainers, boots and outdoor footwear to create a fantastic range of stylish, sporty shoes and boots designed for children's everyday wear.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is an important tax, particularly in a business context. It may not raise a lot of money for the government in the great scheme of things (projected yield is £4.8bn this year, under 1% of total tax take) but it can make quite a dent on what someone retains when selling something. It's probably the UK's most complex tax and one that is in the throes of major change.

Leafing through my copy of Footwear Today I noticed an advertisement from the Society of Shoe Fitters which made me cast my mind back to the days I came into this business when the route of salvation for any aspiring retailer was through correctly fitting the customers' feet.

And those feet promise to be wearing protective, snug and very stylish footwear as Robeez, producer of shoes and booties for newborn babies up to four year olds continues to bear down on the European market ever since their arrival here in 2003.  We caught up with Les Henderson and Caroline Heyns, here adopting the role of proud parents, to tell us more about the conception, weaning and ongoing development of this great brand.

If people were asked to take a look at the labels in the clothes they were wearing right now then it's a fair bet that they'd be able to compile an extensive list of countries for the bit just after where the writing says "Made in". Indicative of the trend for imported goods this also symbolises the notion of throwaway fashion; clothes and shoes so cheap to make, import and then sell in the UK market that they are treated as disposable and faddish - things to be replaced next season or next month by a long list of equally cheap items.

Well groomed gentlemen who necessitate exceptionally designed footwear that offers a superb fit will marvel at the autumn/winter 2008 Austin Reed collection. Sharp designs, unparalleled attention to detail and the finest leathers are all fused together to create a unique range of high quality shoes that simply just ooze appeal. 

Building on the success of previous seasons, Rombah Wallace has added some exciting new men's styles to its impressive footwear collection for autumn/winter 2008. The refined and contemporary range captures a vast array of styles that mirror the signature styling of this renowned footwear brand.

Style Russell featured with new Technogel® heel insert and Barker's new rubber forepart.

It's now less than a month until the third Prima Solutions Adventure Challenge, taking place on 21st June. The Challenge, aimed exclusively at the fashion and fashion retail sectors, will see teams from the industry hiking, biking and canoeing around the stunning Southern Lake District in order to raise money to support CARE International.

That vast, complicated and multifarious land far removed from the jungle that is the average city. Of course, traversing those vales and valleys and scaling the ridges and ravines all require something pretty special attached to the end of your leg. We did a round up of some of the sturdiest and most stylish on the current market.

Slippers have become the most important part of the MOSHULU winter collection in terms of pairage sold and it is with this collection that the designers have had a clear canvas to be inventive. And not just inventive, but creative and downright crazy! Every slipper collection has pushed back the boundaries of what was considered safe and predictable. Of course they sell navy slippers but the prints, the new materials and the lightweight constructions have carved out a loyal customer base that returns season after season to see what they come up with next.

The word ‘slipper' is recorded in the English language as far back as 1478, deriving from the much older verb ‘to slip', the notion being that footwear is "slipped" onto the foot.

Dunlop Slippers has established itself as the market leading brand for both traditional and modern styled slippers for men and women. Renowned for maximum comfort, superb styling and high quality, Dunlop slippers are set to experience another fantastic season.

Youth, so the edict goes, is wasted on the young.  My response, were I able in any way to convince myself or others that I was still adding the word ‘teen' before my age, would likely be unprintable.  The essence however - and one with which I can surely empathise - would be:  "No way Grandpa!"

INSOLVENCY DETAILS

Message Date: 25 April 2008
Registered Number: 03120005
Subject: PRIMA RETAIL LIMITED
The London Gazette dated Thu Apr 24, 2008 published the following public record information against the subject: Appointment of Liquidator by Members and Creditors