Australian jewellery sales down for Michael Hill

For the nine months ended 31 March, the jewellery chain achieved a 0.9 per cent rise to AU$358.4 million in overall same-store sales and a 3.5 per cent increase to AU$382.3 million in overall revenue compared to the previous year.

However, in Australia, same-store sales declined 2.1 per cent to AU$220.8 million and revenue also decreased 1 per cent to AU$228.9 million.

Sir Michael Hill, Michael Hill International chairman

Michael Hill chairman Sir Michael Hill said Australia continued to be a “difficult market” for the company, adding, “This decline in our key market will put pressure on our full year result, but there is still a full quarter to go and management are focused on correcting this downward trend.”

Other regions showed stronger performance. In local currency, New Zealand recorded a 4.8 per cent rise in same-store sales to NZ$87.4 million (AU$86 m); Canada reported a 2.9 per cent lift to CAD$47.9 million (AU$50.4 m); while the US achieved the largest year-on-year same-store sales increase of 7.2 per cent to US$6.3 million (AU$8.1 m).

During the nine-month period, 11 Michael Hill stores opened and two closed – taking the total to 287. The company’s latest report noted that the figures did not include financial results from the company’s Emma & Roe business; however, it stated that two additional Emma & Roe stores opened, taking the total to eight.

In other Michael Hill news, the jewellery retailer has partnered with International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) to provide financial support and industry training to students.

From 2016, the Michael Hill Scholarship will be offered to select students enrolled in the ICMS retail marketing and business management courses. The scholarship entails a $100,000 tuition fee waiver and the opportunity to work at Michael Hill to gain experience in applied retail management.

The Michael Hill Scholarship will be offered annually for three years.
 

store count –  AS AT 21 APRIL 2015

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