From a Betta fish brooch to a “dragon’s trove” of zircon eggs, here are seven pieces that’ve stuck with Associate Editor Lauren McLemore.
Michael Hill’s US comps up, opens 2 more stores
Same-store sales at Michael Hill’s U.S. locations rose 3 percent in the nine-month period ended March 31, the Australian retailer recently reported.
Brisbane, Australia--Same-store sales at Michael Hill’s U.S. locations rose 3 percent in the nine-month period ended March 31, the Australian retailer recently reported.
Total sales at all of Michael Hill’s U.S. stores were down 7 percent in local currency, decreasing from $7.7 million in the prior-year period to $7.2 million this year.
Overall, same-store sales for Michael Hill, which also operates stores in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, were up 5 percent year-over-year in local currency terms (Australian dollars), while total sales for the company in the nine-month period were up 11 percent to $350.2 million.
Canada reported the strongest performance with a 9 percent same-store sales increase in local currency, followed by the United States with its 3 percent increase and Australia with its 1 percent increase.
New Zealand comps, however, fell by 3 percent in the period, which follows declines reported in both the fiscal first quarter and the half-year results in the region for Michael Hill.
Michael Hill now has a total of 10 stores in the United States: its eight Illinois plus a new store in Columbus, Ohio and another slated to open in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. next month, according to the company’s website.
Late last year, Michael Hill also invested in the launch of four new websites to support its e-commerce business across all four of its markets. The sites have a new design, more than 2,500 products and a charm bracelet builder as well as user-generated content.
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