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Michael Hill International Limited
Trade name	Michael Hill Jeweller
Company type	Public
Traded as	ASX: MHJ; NZX: MHJ
Industry	Retail
Founded	1979 in Whangārei, New Zealand
Headquarters	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Number of locations	300 (June 2024)
Area served	Australia; New Zealand; Canada;
Key people	Michael Hill (Founder President) ; Emma Hill (Chairman); Daniel Bracken (CEO)
Products	Jewellery
Brands	Michael Hill, Emma & Roe
Revenue	$489 million NZD (30 June 2011)
Website	michaelhill.com.au (AU); michaelhill.co.nz (NZ); michaelhill.ca (CA)

Michael Hill International Ltd. is a speciality retailer of jewellery. As of June 2024, it operates 300 stores in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.^[1] The company employs approximately 2,600 permanent employees.^[3] Its headquarters are in Brisbane, Australia.

History

The company started in 1979, when Michael Hill and his wife, Christine, opened their first store in the New Zealand town of Whangārei. A unique retail jewellery formula that included dramatically different store designs, a product range devoted exclusively to jewellery and almost saturation levels of high impact advertising elevated the company to national prominence.^[2]

The company expanded to 10 stores by 1987, the same year it listed on the NZX. Also in this year, Michael Hill Jeweller expanded into Australia, opening four stores.^[4]

In 2000, Michael Hill Jeweller had 40 stores in New Zealand, including 12 in Auckland.^[5]

In 2002, the company expanded into Canada, opening its first stores in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[6] Michael Hill now has a presence in five Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.^[2] In September 2008, the company entered the United States market by acquiring 17 stores in Illinois and Missouri from Whitehall Jewelers.^[2]^[7] By mid-2013 over 60% of overall sales were from Australia, only 20% from New Zealand, with the rest from North America.^[8]

Emma Hill, the daughter of Michael Hill, succeeded him as chairperson after the November 2015 annual general meeting.^[9]

In April 2018, Michael Hill closed their nine remaining stores in the US.^[10]

In April 2023, Michael Hill announced it would acquire Australian jewellery chain Bevilles and its 26 stores for A$45 million.^[11]

Michael Hill watches

In late 2006, following a five-year trial,^[12] the company launched its own brand of watches under the Michael Hill name, phasing out all but the Citizen brand of watches by the middle of 2007.^[13] By mid-2008, only Michael Hill-brand watches were available in the company's stores.^[7]

Timeline

1979: Michael Hill opens his first store in Whangarei, New Zealand.^[14]
1981: Michael Hill began manufacturing his own jewellery in house.^[14]
2006: The Michael Hill Watch Collection was launched.^[13]
2009: The Michael Hill Charms Collection was launched.^[15]
2010: Michael Hill announced the closure of eight stores in the United States.^[16]
The company announced it was in a $40m NZD dispute with the Australian Taxation Office.^[17]
2013: Michael Hill announced a new global brand, including bridal products and other jewellery which was more feminine.^[18]
2014: Sales in Australia were described as "lacklustre" due to Australian economic performance.^[19] The company settled its dispute with the Australian Taxation Office.
2015: The company opened a store in New York City in April 2015.^[20] Australian sales improve after poor performance in that market during 2013–2014.^[21] Sir Michael Hill moved to a new role of Founder/President, as his daughter Emma became Chairman.^[22]