NATIONAL: Premier Investments, owner of Just Group Limited, announced today it expects its 2009 financial year profit before income tax to be better than initially forecast.

MELBOURNE: Sportsgirl's flagship store in Bourke Street Melbourne has been short-listed as a finalist for the UK Retail Interior Awards 2009.

QUEENSLAND: Fashion will flood the regional area of Gladstone today at the Sothertons Fashion Design Showcase.

SYDNEY: Alannah Hill's flagship store in Oxford Street, Sydney, has undergone a makeover.

MELBOURNE: Leading Melbourne retail stores were duped by students in a $500,000 credit scam between October and January this year.

MELBOURNE: T.L. Wood is launching an online transactional website this month.

MELBOURNE: Kellyanne Russell has a different vision of the "every day man on the street" than most designers do.

SYDNEY: Fashion Group International of Sydney (FGI) is once again staging its bi-ennial pat-on-the-back ceremony, the Awards for Excellence.

NATIONAL: The future of global sportswear brand Canterbury is looking a little more assured after UK sports apparel group JD Sports bought its struggling European operations.

NATIONAL: David Jones today stated a clear intent to boost its digital communication and marketing presence by increasing its email database and exploring the expansion of a three to five-year e-tail operation plan.

NATIONAL: Australian designers, buyers and media intent on attending Air New Zealand Fashion Week (ANZFW) next month have been asked to trade in their heels for hard hats.

NATIONAL: Struggling wholesale group Mercury Brands has failed to secure enough funding to acquire the apparel arm of toy and lifestyle company Funtastic.

NATIONAL: Emu Australia, the Australian sheepskin footwear and apparel company, has named emerging Sydney model Elle McLeod as the face of the brand for 2010.

NATIONAL: Department store Myer has turned to the experienced hand of former Just Group managing director Howard McDonald to help path the way for its potential listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

NATIONAL: Myer has announced it will introduce plus size fashion into its forthcoming spring/summer 2009 catwalk parades.

SYDNEY: Australian apparel businesses keen to enter the competitive retail environment are the focus of a new campaign by industry group Fashion Group International of Sydney (FGI).