Michael Hill (entrepreneur)
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Sir Michael Hill KNZM |
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|---|---|
| Born |
Richard Michael Hill 23 December 1938 Whangarei, New Zealand |
| Known for | Jewellery business Philanthropy |
| Net worth | $300m  (2017) |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Christine Roe (m. 1965) |
| Children | One son, one daughter |
| Awards |
CNZM (2002) New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year (2008) KNZM (2011) |
Sir (Richard) Michael Hill KNZM (born 23 December 1938) is a New Zealand jeweller, entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded global jewellery retailer Michael Hill Jeweller in 1979. He retired as the company's chairman in November 2015. He currently resides in Arrowtown and was Ernst & Young's 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year in New Zealand.
Born in Whangarei on 23 December 1938, Hill was educated at Whangarei Boys' High School from 1949 to 1954. He left school at 16 to pursue a career as a concert violinist but a year later was told he would have had to start much younger in life to be a noteworthy musician. Hill abandoned his hopes of a career in music and started working for his uncle, Arthur Fisher, at the family jewellery store. He performed well as a salesman and window dresser, winning international awards for his efforts in the latter. He later took over the store's newspaper and radio advertising, drawing attention to the business with bizarre themes for the advertisements, and was later promoted to manager.
In the spring of 1964, while working in the store, Hill met Christine Roe, an Englishwoman who taught art at a local high school. They married in March 1965 and had two children, Mark (born 1969) and Emma (born 1971).
On 1 October 1977, the house that had taken them four years to build was destroyed in a fire.
Following this setback, Hill re-assessed his life. With the help of a friend, he tried to buy his uncle's business, but the uncle refused to sell. On 13 May 1979, Hill opened his own jewellery store nearby, calling it Michael Hill Jeweller. One of his main points of difference was to limit his store's product range to jewellery items, dispensing with silverware, clocks, porcelain and glassware commonly found in other jewellery stores at the time.
Hill had set himself a goal of "seven stores in seven years" and in 1986 he exceeded that, opening his eighth store in Newmarket. On 9 June 1987, Hill floated Michael Hill Jeweller on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, raising enough capital to expand the business locally and into the Australian market where the company opened four stores in Brisbane later that year. In 1988, Hill set himself and his company another goal: "70 shops in seven years". This goal was also achieved. In 2002, the goal of opening 1000 stores by 2022 was established by Hill, with the further aim of taking the brand global. During that same year, the company opened its first three stores in Canada, and by the end of 2009 the company had 242 stores in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
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