NZ OPenWhile Hill’s jewellery stores were booming, the Warehouse cameunstuck when it ventured into Australia. “That,” says the shrewdbusinessman, “is because they bought into a chain that wasn’t working.We offered Australians something excitingly new.”Michael Hill Jewellers have since set up in Canada, where the operationwas until recently administered by Hill’s daughter Emma, who is now backin New Zealand. <strong>The</strong>y researched the local market before opening theirdoors and found that Canadian women are not as independent as NewZealand women, men making most of the purchases. Canadians preferfour claw settings rather than eight and white diamonds rather than yellow.“We learned so much in our research,” says Hill. “While it was importantto adapt to the local market, one thing we didn’t change was our basicphilosophy to keep the operation simple and to continue concentratingon our area of expertise. We had once tried to branch out into shoes, butthat was unsuccessful, so we decided to focus one hundred per cent on thebusiness we knew most about, jewellery.”When the newest store was opened in Alberta, the outside temperaturewas minus 30 degrees Celsius. Emma was concerned no one would ventureoutdoors to the opening, despite extensive newspaper advertising andthe offer of a one carat diamond for one dollar, but at opening time 400people were queued up outside the store. Michael Hill Jewellers currentlyhas 190 stores in New Zealand, Australia and Canada with a vision for1000 stores by 2022. <strong>The</strong> UK is the next market to be probed.AN 18-HOle GOlf cOurse thatcould stage the New Zealand Open was noton the five-year, 10-year or 20-year planNot wanting to overstay their welcome in Australia and unwilling tobecome citizens of that country, the <strong>Hills</strong> chose to return to New Zealandin 1992. It wasn’t their native far north that beckoned, however, butrather a spectacularly beautiful part of the country that had captured theirhearts from the first time they visited it, Queenstown. <strong>The</strong>y wanted to trysomething different.That something different, which would manifest itself in a sensationalmanner neither the <strong>Hills</strong> nor the golfing fraternity of New Zealand couldever have visualised, began quietly enough at Spinnaker Bay on theFrankton arm of Lake Wakatipu. While the scenery was breathtaking, theproperty was compact. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Hills</strong> wanted something more expansive.<strong>The</strong>ir saviour came knocking on the door in the form of enterprisingreal estate agent Bob Jack. He’d heard a whisper the <strong>Hills</strong> could be in themarket for something special. <strong>The</strong>y looked first at Kelvin Heights but foundnothing appropriate. Lake Hayes was more promising, but again nothinghit the mark. “Well,” said Jack, “there’s a deer farm near Arrowtown thatcould possibly interest you, although the buildings are awfully run down.”<strong>The</strong> moment the <strong>Hills</strong> stepped on to the property they fell in lovewith it. Never mind the broken down buildings; the scenery was to diefor. <strong>The</strong> 180 degree view that swept from Crown Hill past the delightfulformer gold mining settlement of Arrowtown to the renowned ski resortof Coronet Peak and on to the peerless Remarkables completely dazzledthem. Directly across the road linking Lake Hayes with Arrowtown, a mere5-iron away, was Millbrook, one of the snazziest golf courses in the landand where Hill immediately became a member.“<strong>The</strong>re was never any doubt about where we wanted to spend the restof our lives, from the moment we took in a view that, I have to say, wefound absolutely breathtaking,” says Hill. “Christine reckons it’s one of therare occasions since she met me that I was lost for words!”An 18-hole golf course that could stage the New Zealand Open wasnot on the five-year, 10-year or even 20-year plan. <strong>The</strong> 138 acres theA bird’s eye view of the stunning 17th hole,aptly named <strong>The</strong> Canyon.18 the CUt June 2007CT Jun07 MichaelHill.indd 187/4/07 9:17:25 AMCT Jun07 MichaelHill.indd 197/4/07 9:17:35 AMwww.parkland.co.nz Reproduced from <strong>The</strong> Cut magazine Reproduced from <strong>The</strong> Cut magazine www.parkland.co.nz