OCTANE enters Myer

NATIONAL: Melbourne label OCTANE has landed its own concept area in 13 Myer stores nationally including Myer Melbourne, Chadstone, Doncaster, Sydney, Bondi, Chatswood, Parramatta, Macquarie, Highpoint, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Pacific Fair. The deal coincides with the launch of OCTANE's spring 2005 range, which features polo shirts, light weight double layered tees, dual ring spun denim and a colour palette including pink, orange, yellow and green. Tees are priced from $55.00 and jeans from $149.00.

:Surf at Chadstone
MELBOURNE: Surf giant Quiksilver has opened two specially designed concept stores at Melbourne shopping centre Chadstone, one dedicated to surf brand Quiksilver and one to Quiksilver-owned girl's surf fashion brand Roxy. In addition to the full range of Quiksilver and Roxy product, the stores feature under-water themed lightbox ceilings and instore displays designed to illustrate the brands' boardriding heritage and provide shoppers with an entertaining and informative retail experience.

:AWI Shanghai
Wool research and promotion body Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) has opened an office in Shanghai, to enhance its relationships with retail and manufacturing businesses in China. AWI now has six representatives based in Shanghai, focused on building alliances with key players in the knitwear, menswear and womenswear market segments. It also has a representative based in Beijing, working on improving market access and the development of the China-Australia free trade agreement.

:Chapel St no show
MELBOURNE: The organisers of the Chapel Street On Show Festival, dedicated to showcasing Melbourne's iconic fashion strip, have cancelled this year's event - scheduled for Sunday November 27 - due to lack of funding. The event has been postponed until 2006 when it is believed that corporate and retail funding levels will have returned to normal levels, following the Commonwealth Games in early 2006. Event director Scott Murphy said, "To stage the Chapel Street On Show event successfully and in a way that meets the aims of promoting the Chapel Street precinct, both in the short and long term, a minimum level of funding was required and unfortunately this funding was unlikely to be met before the event was staged in late November".