The Michael Hill International Ltd (ASX: MHJ) share price is not glittering today, it’s down around 2% after releasing a trading update.
Sir Michael Hill founded the jewellery business in 1979 and now has 306 stores globally across Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Its headquarters are based in Brisbane.
Michael Hill’s Trading Update
The company reported that same store sales were flat with growth of 0.1%, but total sales were down 0.8% in the June 2019 quarter. That meant that sales for the whole year were down 3.5%.
Michael Hill’s gross margin declined to 61.1%, down from 62.8%. But e-Commerce sales grew by 43.6% to $16 million over FY19 with online sales now representing 2.8% of total sales.
The jewellery company also revealed that after a full review of its staff remuneration, contracts and rostering, it showed non-compliance with some requirements of the General Retail Industry Award over the past six financial years, which will cost $10 million to $25 million.
Michael Hill CEO Daniel Bracken said:
“Even though we are experiencing an extremely competitive retail environment, particularly in Australia, with intensive competitor clearance related activities and lower foot traffic, the company has continued to deliver improved sales momentum for the fourth quarter.”
Retail is such a tough industry that I’d rather go for opportunities outside of that sector such as the rapidly grow businesses in the free report below.
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