markets across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. The brand opened 10 new stores in the period, correlating to 4.6 per cent total store sales growth, but was let down by a 1.5 per cent fall in sales in New Zealand and a 8.8 per cent decline in the US. Australian sales only grew by 0.3 per cent on a same store basis. According to Taylor, Michael Hill isn’t the only fine jewellery brand struggling, telling Inside Retail Weekly that the category is failing to peak consumer interest across all its markets. “There’s a lot more competition for the consumer dollar, not just online but across all channels … our category is very traditional and old fashioned, we haven’t seen much change,” he said. “Unless the category starts changing, it will continue to be under pressure,” he continued. Despite the challenges, Taylor is confident that the business has identified its problems and is positioned for a turnaround in the second half, saying that there’s certainly room for the fine jewellery Aside from appointing a new US president to focus on reforming their American business, Taylor says that the Michael Hill brand needs to reinvent itself and quickly – changing its offer and running more specific marketing campaigns. “We’re focused on our new and upcoming propriety collections, which will excite the public … we need to get away from the general marketing campaigns that have been run throughout the industry to focus on more specific areas of our product.” Consumers look to the middle-market Also in the Michael Hill portfolio is the relatively new Emma & Roe brand, which has been expanded this year after a two year trial in Queensland. New South Wales has been the focus so far, with eight stores opened in the first half of FY17 and a further 10 scheduled in the second half. The expansion drove the brand to 71.9 per cent total store sales growth in the first half, driving Taylor’s optimism in the brand’s expansion prospects. Taylor revealed that Emma and Roe will expand further on its sole New Zealand store in the next 12 months, with an eye on Canada within the next 2 years. In contrast to Michael Hill, Emma & Roe has a much more middle market focus, honing in on a more fashion focused customer motivation, which IBISWorld senior industry analyst, Nick Tarrant, says is where consumers are moving. “[Fine and fashion] jewellery don’t always compete with each other, but we have seen consumers move to the mid-range, which is taking away from traditional fine jewellers.” Tarrant says the move has been a boon to the likes of Pandora and Country Road Group (including the Country Road and Mimco brands), who have been assisted by lower silver prices, allowing themselves to distinguish themselves from the lower market whilst keeping prices lower. In an interview with IRW, Country Road’s marketing co-ordinator Emily Beasley and accessories designer Miranda Punshon revealed that Country Road plans to launch a new sterling silver product line in February that’s marketed to mid-range consumers at an accessible price point. Punshon said that focusing on the midrange of the market conveys a significant advantage to the brand, enabling it to keep up with consumer trends. “Customers are constantly wanting new, new, and new. The high-end is a bit slow,” she explained. “We’ve found that the shift to the middle market can be because of the longer lead time in production. We can respond a little bit quicker to trends … fashion is constantly evolving and we’re able to give the customer what they are after much quicker than a high-end jewellery retailer.” The “look” Punshon notes that there will always be a place for fine jewellery and that fine stones and metals are still in demand, but that customers are increasingly looking for accessories as part of a “look”. “Events are becoming really huge, more people want to get their look out there, so statement earrings have become a really big category for us – people don’t want a new outfit, but they want that accessory to elevate the look,” she said. “We work closely with our other departments to make sure that when customers look for an item, they are actually looking at an entire outfit and how it’s regaled by a stylist, opposed to just having individual items,” Beasley added. In recognition of the success of the likes of Country Road, Mimco and Lovisa, Tarrant says that Michael Hill’s Emma & Roe is a push towards appealing to a broader range of consumers, particularly the younger than 30 demographic, who he says the likes of Mimco are very successful with. “Not only do they have more reach with under 30s, they have more of a brand presence in department stores as well as retail stores,” he said. “The biggest move is towards branded stores over traditional fine jeweller on the street type stores.” Investors appear to be onboard with Taylor’s ambition for change; Michael Hill’s value has increased by approximately 10 per cent since releasing their half year results, to 1.37 at time of writing, which is a full 17 cents higher than its initial float price. On the New Zealand stock exchange, which the company has been listed on since 1987, their value has increased 12 cents.