Michael Hill has enjoyed a “solid” year of sales despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with same store sales up 8.6 per cent for the year to 27 June despite over 10,000 lost trading days.

Digital sales grew 1.1 per cent and broke $30 million for the first time for the group, hitting 6.2 per cent of full year sales.

“This performance provides further evidence that our strategic transformation agenda is on track and delivering. We’ve seen record digital sales, our loyalty program going from strength to strength, further development of omni-channel initiatives, and continued evolution of our product offering, go-to-market campaigns and retail fundamentals,” said Michael Hill chief executive Daniel Bracken.

“I’m particularly proud that we have taken a strong and proactive position in supporting our team members during these very challenging times. The connections with out teams, customers and suppliers continue to be at the forefront of our minds.”

The business generated all store sales growth of 116 per cent in its final quarter of the year, landing at $116 million compared to the $53 million seen last year, with Australians stores seeing sales double and New Zealand stores up 129.9 per cent.

For the full year, Australian stores saw sales grow 17.4 per cent, while New Zealand stores were up 19.1 per cent.

“The company continues to navigate a disrupted retail environment, with significant store closures on a regular basis,” Bracken said.

“[However], we finished the year with a strong trading performance and a very robust balance sheet. Combined with the demonstrated traction in our growth strategies, this sees the company well-positioned to continue its earnings trajectory and explore new opportunities.”