NAVIGATING THE LANDSCAPE OF GROWTH

The franchise sector in New Zealand has experienced dynamic change recently, largely driven by altered consumer behaviour following the pandemic, evolving demographic trends, and advancements in AI and data analytics.  

“As businesses become more data rich and consumer behaviours evolve, it is clear that data-driven strategies to enable franchise growth are now even more important than ever before,” says Jeff Vassel, Global Business Development Manager at Geotech Information Services.

Founded over 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.

Geotech is a member of the Franchise Council of Australia and has been actively involved with New Zealand franchises for many years.

Geotech provides retail, food and service-based companies with data-driven insights to facilitate territory planning and allocation, network growth, and problem-solving. Their client list includes brands such as McDonald’s, KFC, Nando’s, Burger Fuel, Kitchen Studio, Hire A Hubby and Kumon.

Where to look for growth

Insights from the 2023 New Zealand Census reveal key shifts that could impact where the potential for growth is in New Zealand for franchises. These shifts include:

Aging Population: Almost one in five New Zealanders are aged over 60 years old, meaning the demand for health, wellness, aged care, medical and home services is rising – sectors where franchises can play a pivotal role.  

Cultural Diversity: There are increasing proportions of New Zealanders of Māori descent, and almost 30% of residents were born overseas. This provides opportunity for niche franchises in food, retail and personal services to cater to a broad range of tastes and cultural traditions.

Increase in Working from Home: Around one in six New Zealand workers now ‘mostly’ work at home, which has increased from around one in eight in 2018.

In the Auckland and Wellington regions the number of employees who mostly worked from home has more than doubled. “Coastal regions prove popular with employees working from home, with over 30% of employees working from home in the areas of Long Bay and Stanley Point in Auckland and Karaka Bays in Wellington,” explains Jeff. 

Together, these trends signal the need for franchises to be data-driven, hyper-local and able to align with changing consumer needs, to have the highest chance of successful growth.

What’s happening in our CBD locations?

During the pandemic, central business districts across New Zealand struggled with reduced commuter foot traffic. But today, many are undergoing revitalisation with a stronger focus on hospitality and flexible retail spaces.

In the Auckland CBD, for example, the areas around Britomart and Queen Street have amongst the highest levels of commuter foot traffic and activity. In the Wellington CBD, the areas of Jervois Quay, Lambton Quay and Cuba Street have the highest levels of activity.

“Understanding where the opportunities are in New Zealand, both in CBD environments, as well as local suburban areas, and underpinning this with data and analytics will be critical for franchise systems undertaking site selection and territory allocation,” says Jeff.

The game changer

What separates high-growth franchises from the rest in 2025, will be their use of cutting-edge data analytics, AI, and making more informed data-driven decisions. 

“There is a mass of detailed consumer and market information available from government, research companies and corporations,” Jeff says, “but the challenge for many companies is knowing where to start, and what types of business problems data and analytics can help solve, to assist with network planning and give businesses a competitive advantage”. 

Here are some examples of how innovative location intelligence from Geotech can make a real difference:

Mobile Device Tracking: Anonymised foot traffic analytics show how people move throughout a city - revealing hotspots of activity not visible through traditional Census data. It is an exciting evolution of data that can reveal great insights into consumer behaviour, how people move around before and after they visit your stores, who else they shop with, how far they travel from, and what were their likely motivations for choosing your brand.

Sales Forecasting & Strategic Network Planning: By analysing the sales performance of stores in your network against their site, precinct and local market characteristics, it’s possible to identify the critical factors driving sales. These can then be incorporated into a forecasting model to predict future site sales performance.

Local Store Marketing: Developing a ‘data driven’ local store marketing system and combining it with local demographic and traffic information ensures that the most effective local strategy and marketing is being adopted by every store in a network.

Channel Strategy: Understanding how online and delivery channels work and interact with traditional bricks and mortar outlets continues to be a hot topic of discussion for franchises. Do the channels work together and complement each other, or do they cannibalise each other – data and analysis on this can provide valuable insight.

Ready for a data-driven approach?

“Data doesn’t just validate your gut feeling, it often challenges it,” says Jeff. “That’s where the real advantage comes in. You don’t need to guess where the opportunities are for your sites or territory allocation – the data and analytics tells you. It’s about aligning opportunity with demand and underpinning it with a data-driven approach to make more informed decisions”.

“Franchising success in 2025 isn’t about being everywhere – it’s about being in the right place at the right time and making more informed and profitable decisions. Professionally analysed data helps you do exactly that.”

“To learn more about how Geotech Information Services can support you in identifying where the opportunities are for your brand, contact me today.”  

See this advertorial on page 35 of Franchise New Zealand magazine Year 34 Issue 2

Contact details for Geotech Information Services

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