In The News

Women pay a "gift" of US$5000 (NZ$7000) when they start as a seed, before moving on to sapling, then blossom and finally achieve the "Lotus" status to receive a US$40,000 payout from eight new women. If no new members are recruited, the circle can collapse.

A circle document entitled "25 Ways to Manifest Your Gift" encourages new recruits to sell their car, paint a neighbour's house, apply for a credit card or second mortgage, take out a loan or ask for an early inheritance.

The most disturbing is number 18, where they are encouraged to sell their blood or plasma, and even their eggs.

Women sign a document stating the money is "a gift and not an investment" and that they "expect nothing in return".

They receive coaching on how to recruit others and meet several times a week in person or by phone to discuss life, spirituality and personal development.

Nosh Group operates five Auckland stores: Glen Innes, Green Lane, Ponsonby, Pakuranga and Matakana.

Mt Eden Food Co operates the Mt Eden store. Nosh stores in Kerikeri and Mt Maunganui are independent franchises.

Mt Eden recorded the highest turnover in the year to June 2016, taking in more than $6.63 million.

But most of the stores were recording losses on a regular basis, sometimes in excess of $100,000 a month.

Between July 2016 and April 2017, the Nosh group had income of $13.3 million but after expenses, suffered a loss of $3.75 million.

All of the Nosh stores are in leased premises, so a buyer would have to renegotiate those leases if they wanted to continue.

A Nosh in Kerikeri and one Mt Maunganui trade as independently operated stores and are unaffected by the receivership.

Kerikeri owner David Whyman said he would still prefer to stay with the Nosh brand but hoped new owners would lead it in a better direction.

Last month, Nosh closed its Auckland stores ahead of a planned relaunch on June 26.

When the time came, different notices said the relaunch had been delayed until July 8.

The relaunch didn't happen on that day either.

No sign of activity - or stock - could be seen through the mostly covered windows.

Companies Office records show that Andrew Grenfell and Kare Johnstone were appointed as receivers of Hardy's earlier this week.

Grenfell told the Herald that the five company-run stores affected by the receivership include those in Auckland's Sylvia Park, St Lukes, and Northwest as well as two in Bethlehem and Taupo.

The receivers are planning on running these stores while they look for a buyer for both them and the master franchisor.

Grenfell said he was not in a position to give details on the events leading up to the receivership. He said that the company-run stores and the master franchisor employed around 20 staff.

Sydney-based investor, Andrew Guy Phillips, bought the unprofitable chain via the company Gosh Holding for $4m saying he had the backing of a number of wealthy Kiwis.

Only one of these backers was revealed through changes to the Companies Office. He was Jonathan Denize, an Auckland man who has been declared bankrupt twice.

Denize did not respond to attempts to contact him this week.

"People in the industry shook their heads when Nosh was sold," said retail analyst Chris Wilkinson. "We all tried to work out who these buyers were."

Phillips was positive at the beginning of his purchase, and agreed to talk to the Herald about exciting plans for the franchise. This never came about and since the stores shut, he has not responded to calls or emails.

A number of employees and creditors of the business said this week that they were waiting for payment from Nosh.

The new laws would hold franchisors responsible for a franchisee's violations in circumstances where it had significant control or influence over them, knew or should have known about underpayments, or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the violations.

They would also impose much stiffer penalties for breaches, with companies facing possible $540,000 fines.

But the Franchise Council is targeting government and crossbench MPs as it seeks to neuter the bill, arguing it would have unintended consequences that would hurt employment and small business.

The company wrote down the value of its Chinese coffee store operations by $4 million ahead of its expected sale into a new joint venture in China, and wrote down the carrying value of the Progressive Processors supply business by $450,000 after it was sold. In exchange for its Chinese assets, which includes 26 stores, Cooks gets 30 percent of the company which will own the Esquires brand in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Revenue from its operations in the UK and Irish markets grew in local currency terms but the gains were erased by falls in the pound and the euro following the Brexit vote last June, Jackson said. After conversions, sales from Britain decreased 13 percent to $1.5 million, compared to a 22 percent gain in local currency. The company now has 29 stores open in the UK, four more than a year earlier. Irish revenue rose 12.5 percent to $668,000, behind the 15 percent gain on a local currency basis.

RCG retail expert John Polkinghorne said: 'The Body Shop has been a real success story in New Zealand. They've had a long history here and consumers are aware of their strong ethical stance.'

'That should position them well for the future, since business ethics are a bigger issue today than they've ever been.'

'But all retail businesses need to innovate and refresh themselves constantly, The Body Shop is no exception. They need to make sure that they stay relevant and have the best offerings instore and online.'

Domino's said its Koutu store was working 'closely with the local police on this matter and will resume deliveries to that area following police advice.'

'The safety and security of our team members is of the utmost importance to Domino's and each team member is equipped with safety training,' the company said.

The Domino's spokeswoman said the stolen van was found a few days later.

'We can confirm instruction was given by police to the store manager to avoid the area until further notice for the safety of his staff. The store manager advised the owner and agreed to follow this advice.'

Rotorua police prevention manager Inspector Stu Nightingale said police were happy to provide crime prevention advice to businesses but would not tell a company not to go somewhere.

University of Canterbury associate professor Ekant Veer said Kiwis have a love of fast food, but a fourth pizza chain was risky business.

'One hundred stores – that's a lot. We've already got Pizza Hut, Domino's at that low end line. We've got Hell's pizza which takes that upper end, and then we've got the various restaurateurs.'

'I don't think New Zealanders are as closely aligned with pizzas to set up 100 stores,' Veer said.

Fast food was on of the biggest spending categories for most New Zealanders, he said.

'Cheap and nasty seems to be the way we like to eat out.'

'There's still space for good fast food but directly competing with other fast food places is probably not the way to do it,' Veer said.

'Auckland's growth is spectacular, certainly very strong, driven by population, tourist and the construction boom which is creating a lot of jobs,' said economist David Norman.

Auckland annual employment growth is running at 7.3 per cent, compared to 4.9 per cent for the rest of New Zealand.

Norman highlighted population growth, construction sector activity, demand for goods and services, tourism and the retail sector as the big economic growth drivers.

The 60,000 additional jobs were created in professional services (including law, accounting, finance, consultancy, architecture), construction (one in every eight jobs), hospitality (one in every eight jobs) and health care and social services (one in every 10), Norman told the Herald.