Jewellery retailer Michael Hill International has had a strong start to its new trading year, with first quarter total sales up 9.9 percent on a year ago, and solid growth in New Zealand and Canada.
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Excluding the impact of new shops, the group's same store sales were up 6 percent, and they have steadied in Australia where they had been under pressure.
The company said its gross margins have been under pressure because of a stronger US dollar, but it was taking steps to fix the weakness and expected margins to have steadied over the quarter.
Michael Hill said it would open another two Emma & Roe stores in Australia, and while same store sales grew by nearly half, on the year earlier, it still regarded the fledgling chain as a trial.
