In The News

April 2023 – A new book by a franchise veteran provides good advice for anyone wanting to be their own boss

Meeting the Challenge. Driving Opportunity Franchise Association responds to interesting times with theme for the 2023 National Franchise Conference in Christchurch. Earlybird rates close 16 June

17 April 2023 - A search through the disclosure documents of the top 10 franchise brands in the US reveals some common causes of franchise disputes. And although the numbers look large, the percentage of lawsuits in the traditionally-litigious US is actually low.

11 April 2023 - The New Zealand Herald has published  profiles of some of the top-performing McDonald's franchisees around the country, which makes interesting reading and shows some of the hard work that goes into building successful businesses even within such a successful franchise model. Good to see the Stonelake name is still represented among the ranks of franchisees - we interviewed Ray Stonelake 30 years ago and he regaled us with tales of how he first got started (including sleeping on the floor of the restaurant some nights because he was just too tired to go home). Here's the NZ Herald article, and here are a couple of other articles you might enjoy: 

The history of McDonald's in New Zealand
Hugh Morris, McDonald's New Zealand founder

Read more at https://www.nzherald.co.nz/...

The Pork Pie Charity Run is nearing the end – and franchising’s favourite team, The Bonodleys, have already raised a massive $46,085 for KidsCan. Can you help, please?

24 March 2023 – How has inflation affected countries around the world? The Big Mac Index is a much-used guide to buying power. Here’s the latest guide

March 2023 – How did franchisors help after the Anniversary Day floods and Cyclone Gabrielle?

Franchises supporting this little Mini on the Pork Pie Charity Run can earn a week’s free advertising on our Home Page at www.franchise.co.nz

24 February 2023 – Speedy Signs celebrated its 25th birthday in New Zealand yesterday, marking the long-term success of the popular business-to-business franchise

13 February 2023 – Brand Machine, the well-known marketing software provider to the franchise industry, has re-branded to Storyteq

10 February 2023 – Australia’s first prosecution of a franchisor for wage underpayments by its franchisees has commenced in the Federal Court more than five years after legislation that makes franchisors jointly liable was first passed. Jason Gehrke reports.

7 February 2023 – Westpac has  established a $1million flood relief fund to support its small business customers who have been affected by the recent floods in the upper North Island

9 February 2023 - The Inland Revenue is offering additional support to those affected by recent severe weather events. The following information has been provided by the IRD - all links will take you direct to the relevant page on the IRD website

8 February 2023 – Five former employees of a Bottle-O franchisee will receive over a quarter of a million dollars in back pay after an Employment Court ruling. The owner has also been banned from employing anyone for 12 months 

Four seminars being held in May/June are designed to give franchisor teams the tools they need to help franchisees get the most out of their businesses.

Read more at https://franchise.co.nz/art...

2 February 2022 - The Four Square mini-supermarket chain is one of the country’s longest standing brands, having been in business for 99 years, and owner Foodstuffs is keeping the brand up-tp-date with a nationwide revamp. The green, red and yellow branding update has started in the North Island with plans to extend to all 226 stores nationwide.

Read more at https://www.stuff.co.nz/bus...

31 January 2023 - The flooding in Auckland and the Upper North Island will see franchisees needing help and support to deal with the consequences. The Franchise Relationships Institute offers a free Franchisee Support Kit to assist franchisors and others wanting to help franchisees and families affected by disasters.

31 January 2023 - Over the last weekend, Auckland was hit by severe flooding in many parts of the city. Many roads in the North Island are still closed due to the flooding. These floods have affected the livelihoods of many Kiwis living in the North Island. This article from Stuff helps outline some steps that small business owners can take to navigate the unexpected circumstances that they find themselves in.

Read more at https://www.stuff.co.nz/bus...

A new survey has some lessons for prospective franchisees as well as franchisors. Dr Callum Floyd and Adrienne Heard of Franchize Consultants and Simon Lord of Franchise New Zealand media report

 22 December 2022 - A McDonald’s franchisee in Queenstown is offering $28 an hour for untrained and inexperienced staff to work during its busiest time of the year.

Read more at https://www.stuff.co.nz/bus...

19 December 2022 - A multi-unit liquor store franchisee and his associated companies have been slapped with a record $1.55 million in fines after he confiscated workers’ bank cards, forced them to work 70-hour weeks and made them sleep in a cubicle at one of his shops.

Read more at https://www.stuff.co.nz/nat...

December – 2022 Might some franchisors’ attempts to help their franchisees with financing, pricing or selling cause them to fall foul of some unexpected laws? Michael Bright investigates

November 2022 - The Franchise Association has appointed three new Life Members in recognition of their long-term contribution to the franchise sector

Food franchises have always been popular – after all, everyone needs to eat. But hospitality is going through massive changes, so what do new buyers need to think about?

2 December 2022 - An interesting article from Stuff today about the possible value of buying a business rather than a house. It interviews Krista Coningham, the new Westpac Supreme Franchisee of the Year (although it gets a little confused about her awards - see our full report here) and Chris Small of ABC Business Sales, who seems a bit less enthusiastic about franchises - his company doesn't specialise in franchises as much as some other brokers do. He previously recommended buying existing businesses rather than new ones, and we posted some thoughts here. As always, it pays to take expert advice before buying any business from anyone.

Read more at https://www.stuff.co.nz/bus...

26 November 2022 – Details have now been published of the new Active Investor Plus scheme. What might it offer to franchisors, franchisees and migrants? Simon Laurent reports

12 November 2022 – Two home-grown beauty brands starred at the Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards. Both were Supreme Award winners for the first time, while winning franchisees came from towns all over the country.

For results of the 2025 Westpac New Zealand Awards see Inspirational Winners.

November 2022 – Every year, The Coffee Club and KidsCan collaborate on a special competition to design the seasonal takeaway cups used in The Coffee Club's 65 cafés around New Zealand. But it's not just about the glory of winning – the young artists also raise thousands of dollars for their schools

November 2022 – A Quinovic property rental franchisee who had his franchise agreement terminated after posting fake reviews on Facebook and Google now faces bankruptcy, according to Stuff. Akshaya Khera lost a bid to set aside bankruptcy notices over nearly $600,000 in unpaid court-ordered costs which had been awarded following the termination. The franchise agreement between Quinovic and Khera's company Exuberant allowed Quinovic to claim “actual and reasonable” costs from the termination of the agreement. Quinovic was awarded costs of $683,201 after spending $860,862 trying to prove the reviews were fake, included legal expenses and witness costs, according to a High Court judgment in late 2021.

Read more at https://www.stuff.co.nz/bus...

November 2022 – Some top food  brands are among nine international franchises looking for local partners in New Zealand

October 2022 – Rising sales and slower increases in wages have signalled an improvement in small business prospects, new data from Xero shows

Read more at https://www.stuff.co.nz/bus...

October 2022 – Geotech Information Services has been named Australian Franchise Supplier of the Year at the recent FCA Business Essentials National Excellence in Franchising Awards

25 October 2022 - Domino's has added the option of a plant-based 'beef' topping from Impossible Foods to its pizza range

Read more at https://www.nzherald.co.nz/...

9 October 2022 - Immigration Minister Michael Wood today announced measures targeted to support the hospitality and tourism sectors and have adjusted the requirement to recruit chefs as requested by industry.

Support is also being provided to the wider tourism and hospitality sector, by extending their exemption to the median wage threshold to give them more time to transition. 

“As the world recovers from COVID-19, labour shortages continue to be a persistent ongoing global symptom,” Michael Wood said.

“We are listening closely to the concerns of the hospitality and tourism sectors, and working with them to take practical steps to support them with these challenges where we can, as businesses work towards more productive and resilient ways of operating.

Staff availability has been a major concern for many hospitality businesses in recent months, with some operating shorter hours as a result - see our cover story here.

Read more at https://www.beehive.govt.nz...