Michael Hill sales on the rise

Sir Michael Hill is invested as a Knight Companion of the NZ Order of Merit by Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Same-store sales at listed jewellery company Michael Hill rose 8.6 per cent for the nine months to March 31, despite difficult trading conditions and disasters in Christchurch and Queensland.

Chief executive Mike Parsell said it had been a challenging period for Michael Hill, as it had been for all retail, but the company was focusing on promotions to create good value for weary consumers.

"We have had to offer a lot of attractive offers to keep the demand up. The climate is still hard out there. Sales in New Zealand have been challenging. The earthquakes in Christchurch have created a fair degree of disruption [for retailers]."

Same store sales in New Zealand increased by 3.5 per cent to $76.7 million from $74.1 million during the same period last year. In Australia same-store sales increased by 9.5 per cent.

Michael Hill made gains in North America, with same-store sales surging 13.5 per cent to $30.5 million in Canada and 13.4 per cent to $8.1 million in the United States.

Counting all its stores in the US, sales were down 28.2 per cent but 17 stores traded last year compared to nine stores this year. Eight stores closed in June of last year.

"The US has been a very difficult market but we're doing reasonably well - we're got a long time to go. Our objective is to stabilise the nine stores rather than expanding," Parsell said.

The company was focusing on its core customers and trying not to worry about the wider economy.

The reported figures show eight months of accounting adjusted sales results, including preliminary sales figures for March that are prior to final accounting adjustments and have not been audited.

Chairman and founder Sir Michael Hill said sales in the third quarter held up well with same store growth of 5.7 per cent.

The company unveiled its new store format with a champagne function at its flagship store on Queen St in October.

Michael Hill plans to roll out its charcoal grey and softer lighting theme to 250 sites in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Sir Michael said the new theme gave the stores a more modern and sophisticated feel and he aimed to turn the chain into a global brand and grow to 1000 stores.

The company plans to start two fragrance products next year as part of that branding strategy.

Shares in Michael Hill were steady at 89c on the NZX.

Sir Michael was invested as a Knight Companion of the NZ Order of Merit at Government House in Wellington yesterday.