Australian jewellery brand Michael Hill has revealed it will close 24 stores across its Emma & Roe brand in 2018.
All stores are expected to be closed by June 30, 2018.
In January, the company announced it had undertaken a comprehensive review of Emma & Roe to help shape the future strategic direction of the brand.
The review identified a major opportunity in the demi-fine jewellery segment and an emergence in customer preferences towards fine fashion.
Based on this new market, the company announced it would reposition the Emma & Roe brand to fit this segment, with the new proposition involving a smaller, concentrated store footprint.
The new strategy will undergo an initial test and trial period for the remainder of FY18 and whole of FY19.
Michael Hill has negotiated no-binding in-principle lease exit terms with most landlords and will now proceed to negotiate binding formal documentation with those landlords.
Impacted employees are set to be offered redundancy arrangements and support. The Company expects employee severance costs will be finalised in the period to 30 June 2018, as employees are redeployed where possible.
The total one-off cash costs of exiting the 24 Emma & Roe stores, for lease terminations and employee severance, are currently estimated to be in the order of $5.8 million to $7.9 million.