Hill Moves into the US

Michael Hill International (MHI) has purchased 17 stores in the American cities of Chicago and Missouri for a sum of US$5.5 million (NZ$8.1 million). “Chicago is a good market for a newly arrived retailer, partly because of the geographic time overlaps between Chicago and Australasia and because Chicago is a non-coastal, dense, sophisticated metropolitan hub that a lot of retailers consider a good mix,” said Chris Ellis, a partner with Boston-based investment banking firm Consensus Advisors, which is representing Michael Hill in the United States. The Michael Hill jewellery company operates 210 stores in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Michael Hill opened the company’s first store in Whangarei, in 1979.