The company started in 1979, when Michael Hill and his wife, Christine, opened their first store in the New Zealand town of Whangarei. A unique retail jewellery formula that included dramatically different store designs, a product range devoted exclusively to jewellery and almost saturation levels of high impact advertising elevated the company to national prominence.Michael Hill International Ltd. is a speciality retailer of jewellery in North America and Oceania. As at 30 June 2018, it operates 312 stores in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The company’s headquarters are in Brisbane, Australia. Emma Hill, the daughter of Michael Hill, succeeded him as chairperson after the November 2015 annual general meeting.