Michael Hill
Michael Hill gets new look
New Zealand-based jewellery chain Michael Hill International has recently flagged a store re-fit for its key stores.
The first of all 250 Michael Hill stores in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US to be renovated, the flagship Queen Street store in New Zealand now has a charcoal-grey colour scheme and dim lighting to impart a modern and sophisticated feel, according to founder Michael Hill.
"This is the new us," Hill told the New Zealand Herald, adding that the new format would open in its four Chicago stores soon.
The company bought the chain of 17 Whitehall Jewellers stores in Illinois and Missouri out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008.
"When you're opening in a new market and opening in a place like Chicago that has been particularly depressed, you can't just roll out the old thing and expect it to work," Hill said, attributing the extensive re-design to the financial crisis in the US.
Hill said he aimed to turn the chain chain into a global brand and grow to 1,000 stores.
Posted November 01, 2009