Masterton jewellery fans travelling to Lower Hutt or Palmerston North have now brought the shop back with them.
Michael Hill Jeweller opened today in Queen Street and manager Meg Lyttle said the number of Masterton shoppers in the chain's Palmerston North and Lower Hutt stores inspired a move to open a
branch in the town.
"We've always had a lot of customers in Masterton," Ms Lyttle said. "From our past stores we've seen that customers are willing to travel so why not bring it to them?"
The store will have a grand opening sale on Saturday.
Moving over had been discussed for several years, but "we were waiting for our ideal site". That site is next to the arcade in south Queen Street, although the shop opens to the street front alone.
Ms Lyttle said the layout of the store is "very efficient, very light" as thousands of necklaces, pendants, rings and watches fill the cases configured in a U-shape.
Staff at the store have all been hired from Wairarapa in the past few weeks, though Ms Lyttle herself was the manager of the Paraparaumu store. So is it a love of jewellery or a business bent that has brought Ms Lyttle into this role?
"Actually, neither," she said.
A student at Massey University Veterinarian School, she began at Michael Hill and graduated instead "from part-time sales professional to store manager". Leaving the vet training behind, she went through a company management programme and became the manager of the Paraparaumu Store.
So is Masterton ready for Michael Hill and a fourth jewellery store in its main street? Time will tell but Ms Lyttle said. "So far we've had a really positive response."
