Michael Hill has made some structural changes to its Australian leadership team to pour more resources into its core business.

Tishara Mina, the boss of the jeweller’s Emma & Roe brand, will take on new responsibilities under the changes and will now oversee nearly half of Michael Hill’s Australian territory.

Current Australian retail general manager Kevin Stock, who previously oversaw all 13 of Michael Hill’s local operating regions, will have his workload reduced to seven regions.

In a statement to the market on Monday afternoon Michael Hill said the changes reflected a recent decision to downsize the Emma & Roe brand after a series of lacklustre trading periods.

While Mina will continue to lead Emma & Roe, there will now be more talent focused on Michael Hill Australia, the company’s largest single division, with more than 170 stores across the country.

Michael Hill’s Australian operations have suffered from stagnant growth in recent months, with same store sales declining by 0.3 per cent in the nine months to 31 March.

Michael Hill announced in March that it would close all but six of the 30 Emma & Roe stores it was trading by 30 June, part of a plan to reposition the business in the hope that it may generate some sustainable same-store sales growth.

Emma & Roe booked a 5.4 per cent decline in same store sales in Australia for the nine months to 31 March, while total sales were up 17.6 per cent to $13.2 million.

The jeweller also announced human resources changes on Monday afternoon, signalling that it will commence a search for a chief people officer after identifying a need for “additional support”.

Under the planned changes current group human resources chief Stewart Silk will move into a role managing the human resources operations team, once the CPO appointment is made.

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