Australian Exhibitions & Conferences Pty Ltd has announced the Australian Shoe Fair to be held Feb 18 to 19, 2006 at the Sydney Exhibition Centre. The Fair is planned to be held in Sydney each February and in Melbourne each August. The inaugural fair is expected to show over 100 Exhibitors and anticipates attendance by more than 2000 footwear retailers

Many retailers opperating a chain of outlets, have announced solid sales results for the first 6 month of this financial year as a result of strong Christmas sales. They include Rebel Sports, Noni-B, Harvey Norman, Woolworths, JB Hi-Fi, Just Group and The Reject Shop.
The Just Group, withover 700 stores, increased its first half forecast for earnings by 15-20 per cent to $53-$55 million reporting a 7% increase in sales during Christmas and January from the same period last year.
The Reject Shop has reported strong Christmas trading. It opening 10 new stores for 6 month period and recorded sales growth of 14.3% and comparable store sales growth of 5.8%.
Reject Shop Managing Director, Mr Barry Saunders said the strong first half result resulted from the sales growth in traffic building ranges, improved Christmas seasonal performance and a more effective promotional program. These followed a range of initiatives throughout the stock pipeline. The strong Christmas performance was largely driven by a measured increase in buying funds allocated, improved selection and by our strategy to adapt to changing shopping patterns. By better managing the flow of stock to our stores we were able to maintain the strength of our core product range while satisfying consumers’ appetite for Christmas stock.
JB Hi-Fi’s half-year net profit sprang 28.5% to $18.8 million on a huge 35% increase in sales to $509 million, confirming strong consumer demand for consumer electronics products such as digital cameras, Ipods, DVDs, CDs, and mobile phones.