Global Franchise 9.1

FRANCHISING DOWN UNDER The small island nation of New Zealand ranks among the world’s top economies for doing business by theWorld Bank. Farrah Rose investigates the opportunities for franchisors y recent visit to this wonderful country has shown me that New Zealand is probably one of the most sophisticated, discerning, and well-developed franchise markets in the world. I was fortunate enough to meet with so many knowledgeable experts all up and down the North Island during my time there, taking in many key cities such as Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, and Palmerston North. The experience left me feeling very positive about the country, its people, infrastructure and the sophisticated level of franchising knowledge which defines New Zealand as such an interesting and appealing market. While geographically it’s around two-thirds of the size of California, it’s inhabited by a tiny fraction of the population: just five million compared to the Golden State’s 40 million residents. However, this small country is a real giant when it comes to franchising with 590 franchise systems in operation. Recent data from Massey University Survey of New Zealand Franchising – organised by the Franchising Association of New Zealand (FANZ) states that there are 32,000 franchise units currently operating there, employing around 157,000 people and contributing a whopping NZ$36.8 billion dollars to the economy. Most well-established, high profile franchise brands, particularly in food and beverage, have a strong presence in New Zealand in both its large and small cities, and the country has many local domestic and commercial cleaning, gardening and home maintenance franchises. An appetite for all things franchising Banks, such as Westpac and ASB, seem to be very well versed with franchising and provide funding to international systems which have proven their concepts and systems work well in New Zealand. The shared language and friendly bond with many English- speaking Western states makes M INS IGHT 32 GLOBAL FRANCHISE | ISSUE 9.1