Right Time, Right Place

Across New Zealand, changing business conditions mean that some prime sites are becoming available as outgoing tenants fail to renew leases. That’s clearly tempting for would-be franchisees looking for opportunities, and for franchisors wanting to expand their network. But how do you go about evaluating a site to make sure that it’s not the location that’s at fault, or that it will really suit a particular brand? Contacting Jeff Vassel at Geotech Information Services is a good way to start.

Founded almost 20 years ago, Geotech is a data analytics and location growth planning company that works with businesses on both sides of the Tasman, especially franchises. Their client list includes McDonald’s, Nando’s, Kitchen Studio, and Burger Fuel, and they have access to all sorts of data to help analyse the true potential and suitability of sites.

What’s changed?

‘A combination of factors has resulted in some apparently prime sites coming onto the market,’ says Jeff. ‘Economic conditions, rising prices and post-Covid stress all have a part to play.

‘The rise of working from home shifts (WFH) on Mondays and Fridays has seen the decline of almost every CBD in the world. In addition, the busiest days have shifted from Fridays to the middle of the week. That means every site needs to be looked at afresh, before renewing leases as well as taking up new ones.

‘At the same time, we’re seeing a lot of food and retail businesses thriving and looking for new outlets, especially in the outer suburbs where WFH means more people are around for more of the day. New developments also need careful analysis; you don’t want franchisees to take on premises in a new area before the population of your own customer demographic is there to support them.

‘What we do at Geotech is bring together all the available data and analyse it to enable clients to make a facts-based decision, not a guts-based one. That way, new stores and new franchisees have the best possible chance of success.’

Understanding your market

Jeff says that modern retail businesses generate a whole lot of data about sales and customers, ‘But there’s so much and it’s so specific that many companies don’t know how best to use it. We can combine your data with the mass of detailed consumer and market information available from government, research companies and corporations to assist with network planning and give your franchise a competitive advantage.’

What sort of additional information can Geotech access?

Mobile Device Tracking

Analysis of desensitised mobile device positioning data can show you how people move around before and after they visit your stores, who else they shop with, how far they travel from, and what their likely motivations were for choosing your brand. It can also help you evaluate the probable impact of infrastructure changes, such as roading or new public transport options, eg. Auckland’s City Rail Link.

Household Expenditure Data

Information on how much money people spend and what they tend to spend it on in different areas can give incredible insight into consumer behaviour. This includes the demand in any specific area for different products and services. Household Expenditure Data can be combined with data from the other information sources to help franchises target specific areas that spend proportionally higher and lower on a range of items compared to the New Zealand average.

Putting it all together

By analysing the sales performance of stores against their site, precinct and local market characteristics, it’s possible to identify the critical factors driving sales, says Jeff. ‘These can then be incorporated into a forecasting model to predict future site sales performance, helping franchisors prioritise new site opportunities and optimising the performance of an existing network.

‘Developing a “data-driven” local store marketing system, and combining it with local demographic and traffic information, ensures the most effective local strategy/marketing is being adopted by every store in a network. Analysis of customer data can also provide valuable insight into developing complementary online channels.’

Improving performance

A recent project for an Australian fuel retailer provides an example, Jeff suggests. ‘The brief was to help the client better understand whether the products and services they were offering on a site-by-site basis aligned with the consumers in the vicinity of each outlet.

‘Analysing the journeys and motives that took customers to both their own and competitors’ sites allowed us to determine the product categories likely to appeal most. And it showed locations that were not capitalising on the types of offers likely to sell at their particular site.

‘This type of analysis can help the client better assess where capital expenditure or improvements to store layout would deliver best results. The project also helped align recent consumer qualitative survey data, segmenting customers into personas and better understanding how pricing can motivate consumers to behave.’

It’s this combination of informed analysis and data-based strategy that’s given Geotech its enviable reputation for helping franchisors and franchisees on both sides of the Tasman make good decisions.

‘Find out more - contact me today,’ says Jeff.    

See this advertorial on page 21 of Franchise New Zealand magazine Year 33 Issue 2

Contact details for Geotech

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