Michael Hill International has reported a high single digit jump in third quarter sales, due to adding more jewellery stores.
Total sales rose 8.5% to $US112 million in the first three months of this year.
Core New Zealand and Australian sales chugged along at a similar rate in the latest three months as in the previous six months.
However, same-store sales slowed to 1% after growth of 2.6% in the previous six months.
That reflects falling same-store sales in Canada, although overall sales in Canada rose 14.6% , thanks to new store openings.
Canadian sales now account for 11.5% of total sales.
On a brighter note, stores in the United States which the company bought out of bankruptcy in 2008, seem to be firing at last.
Sales through the nine stores, all in the Chicago area, jumped 16.4% in the latest three months.
Australian slowdown not a worry - Parsell
Australia accounts for two-thirds of Michael Hill's sales. Chief executive Mike Parsell says he isn't worried that a slowing Australian economy might hurt the company's sales.
He says the firm's focus is on internal business and it's comfortable with the strategies laid out for growth in Australia.
"We don't feel overly threatened by any talk of a slowdown here at the moment."
