Michael Hill's loyalty program Brilliance has exceeded one million members, the business has revealed in its first half results.
Reported at 800,000 members at the end of FY21, the jeweller's loyalty program has grown by at least 200,000 in the first half of FY22.
These loyalty members helped to boost the retailer's digital sales, which increased 37% to $26.7 million, accounting for 8.2% of revenue in the half.
Additionally, Michael Hill increased its omnichannel capabilities in H1 FY22, launching click-and-collect in time for Christmas.
Michael Hill CEO Daniel Bracken said the company's transformation strategy is on track.
"Our transformation agenda and strategic initiatives are truly gaining traction – the elevation of our brand across all facets of the business; the Brilliance loyalty program now exceeds more than one million members; deployment of digital-first initiatives including click-and-collect; and, continued focus on retail fundamentals best evidenced by strong lifts in average transaction value, conversion and gross margins," he said.
During the period, Michael Hill's gross margin increased by 240 bps to 65.1% compared to 62.7% in H1 FY21.
Group comparable EBIT increased by 15.5% to $51.6 million and statutory net profit after tax was $37.1 million compared to $37.6 million in the first half of FY21.
And despite losing 20% of store trading days (9,777 days), group same store sales stayed strong, increasing 11.4% to $306.5 million, while operating revenues lifted 2.3% to $327.1 million.
"While we experienced significant disruption across Australia and New Zealand throughout the half, the resilience and commitment of our team was exceptional," Bracken added.
"I'm particularly proud of the successful planning and execution of Christmas trade which delivered Michael Hill's best Q2 in the Company's history, and was the tenth quarter of positive same store sales growth since Q3 FY19.
"All aspects of our business contributed to this result, ranging from the highly engaging and emotive marketing campaign, to the deployment of new digital initiatives, excellence in supply chain and inventory management and our Christmas recruitment strategy," he said.
Michael Hill didn't open or close any stores in the period and ended the half with 285 stores across all markets.
The jeweller had a closing net cash position of $99.1 million at the end of the half.