Michael Hill to Shut Emma & Roe

RAPAPORT... Michael Hill will close all 30 Emma & Roe stores as itredeploys funds and resources to its core business, it said last week. The Australia-based retailer had initially planned to shut only24 of its 30 Emma & Roe stores in Australia and New Zealand by June 30 dueto lackluster sales. "Following a strategic review, we have decided that asingular focus on the Michael Hill brand will best position us to deliver astronger customer proposition and financial results," said Michael Hill internationalCEO Phil Taylor. "Management resources and capital that would have been requiredto reposition the Emma & Roe brand will instead be directed to our corebusiness, Michael Hill." The Michael Hill brand is a much more significant part ofthe overall group, comprising 95% of total revenue, it said. Tishara Mina, Emma & Roe's general manager, has assumedresponsibility for Michael Hill's core-brand operations in six Australianregions. Kevin Stock, previously the head of the entire Michael Hill brand,will oversee business in the country's other seven geographical areas. The closure of the remaining six Emma & Roe stores,including employee- severance packages and exiting store contracts, will cost about$2.3 million (AUD 3.1 million), the jeweler forecast.