Revenue at Michael Hill fell 0.7% year on year in the first fiscal half as higher-value holiday gifts offset weak overall demand.
Sales came to AUD 360.2 million ($229.1 million) for the six months that ended December 29, the Australia-based jeweler said last week. Last year’s first-half revenue received a boost from the acquisition of the Bevilles jewelry-store chain and the accompanying holiday promotions, compensating for an otherwise slow market. Profit rose 10% to AUD 16.9 million ($10.7 million).
Online sales grew to AUD 30.3 million ($19.3 million), representing 8% of total group sales for the period.
Revenue in Australia gained 1.2% year on year to AUD 204.7 million ($130.2 million), even as the network comprised five fewer stores than a year earlier, while same-store sales — at branches open a year earlier — improved 0.6%. In New Zealand, revenue dropped 7% to NZD 60.5 million ($ 34.7 million) and slumped 8% on a same-store basis. Revenue in Canada increased 2.4% to a record CAD 90.7 million ($63.7 million). Same-store sales in that country advanced 2.7%.
During the period, the jeweler expanded its lab-grown diamond collection, introducing higher color and clarity ranges. The move is part of the company’s efforts to elevate its brand. It also extended its Bevilles network, opening stores in Queensland, Australia, for the first time.
For the first seven weeks of the second fiscal half, group sales were up 1.7% year on year, with same-store sales rising 3.2% overall — up 3.8% in Australia and 7% in Canada, and down 1.9% in New Zealand.
“Pleasingly, the first seven weeks of the second half are very encouraging, with signs of strong positive sales momentum, particularly in Canada,” said Michael Hill CEO Daniel Bracken.
Image: A Michael Hill store in Melbourne, Australia. (Shutterstock)
