In The News

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...

Serving food that’s fast, fresh and healthy, Katsubi delivers a winning formula

5 October 2022 - A report suggests franchise resales are attracting lower multiples than other businesses. Is that true?

5 October 2022 - Bread into beer into buns: BurgerFuel, in collaboration with Citizen Collective, is launching a craft beer made from rescued surplus bread

30 September 2022 – Many of New Zealand’s top franchise brands are fighting for honours in the Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards. Here's the list of finalists

At a time when many hospitality businesses are struggling to find staff, 700 people have joined the McDonald’s crew following the chain’s first ever New Zealand National Hiring Day last Saturday, with a further 2000 people expressing interest. More applicants are currently being processed, so the initial number of new hires is expected to be closer to 1,000.

The day provided Kiwis with the opportunity to walk in and interview in restaurants across the country and be hired on the spot.

Read more at https://www.hospitalitybusi...

McDonald's is hiring 2000 workers in New Zealand with jobs being offered on the spot as part of its recruitment drive.

The fast-food chain is holding walk-in interviews at all of its restaurants on Saturday September 24, which it has termed National Hiring Day. People of all ages and experience levels are encouraged to show up between 9am and 6pm for an interview.

The move comes as many hospitality businesses struggle for staff, leading some to operate short hours. Read more in the cover story of our latest free magazine.

Read more at https://mcdonalds.co.nz/pag...

Geotech have been mining their data to outline some post-pandemic shifts in New Zealand’s retail landscape

A group of migrants who have been helping an investigation into immigration fraud may soon be forced to leave the country, RNZ reports. The group were some of the 50 Chinese construction workers who claimed a New Zealand-based recruiter had misled them about their pay and working rights. An arrest warrant was issued for Li Wenshan, who fled New Zealand before charges were laid, and two associates face a trial in December this year; however, 10 workers expected to give evidence have been told by Immigration authorities that they would be expected to leave the country within a month of the trial ending. 

Green Party immigration spokesman Ricardo March said the treatment of this group undermined efforts to combat migrant exploitation. 'These workers are not pieces of evidence, they are human beings, and so to put them in a situation where they are treated as expendable once they're not deemed useful to provide evidence is unjust,' March said. 'And, actually, [it] will undermine the government's intent to create a supportive environment where workers are able to come forward and participate in processes to hold employers to account.'

Unite Union director Mike Treen, who has assisted the men since 2019, is also called for a pathway to residency for this group. Treen said the system of temporary visas had fuelled migrant exploitation and needed to change. 'Immigration New Zealand [INZ] created a system of migrant labour exploitation, and they throw out the people who have helped expose it,' he said.

Worker exploitation has recently been targetted by the Labour Inspectorate and the MBIE, but in a recent interview with Franchise New Zealand, Dr Christina Stringer of the University of Auckland Business School was critical of the new Accredited Employer Working Visa (AEWV) scheme which continues to tie immigrants to specific employers. ‘International research highlights that the linking of an individual migrant to an employer creates a precarious situation,’ she said. Under the AEWV system, franchisee employers are charged over five times as much for accreditation as independent business owners. 

Read more at https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/...

7 September - Russel Creedy, CEO of Restaurant Brands, and CFO Grant Ellis are to retire next year after 20 years with the company, which operates KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Carl's Jr. in New Zealand. They will move into new positions in the interim.

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

3 September 2022 – A new immigration scheme being introduced later this month could open up opportunities for larger investment franchises. Simon Laurent, of immigration specialists Laurent Law, reports

1 September 2022 - Senior New Zealand franchisors are being invited to attend the Franchisor Executive Forum In Melbourne, Australia, on 27 September.

1 September 2022 - Last week's National Franchise Conference in Wellington saw over 200 people from New Zealand, Australia and the USA get together in person at last

1 September 2022 - An old Pizza Hut advert showing former USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev promoting the brand, has resurfaced once again after the brand pulled out of the country owing to the war in Ukraine. As the BBC reports, the advert was aired internationally in 1998 but was never shown in Russia, where it was ridiculed by the press. It's being regarded as an 'era-defining artefact'.

Read more at https://www.bbc.com/news/wo...

10 August 2022 – While plant-based alternatives from companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have been touted as the ‘next big thing’ in the hospitality sector, McDonald’s has just ended trials of its McPlant burger in the USA owing to disappointing sales, and reportedly has no plans for further trials.

The National Franchise Conference has proved so popular that it’s even attracted the attention of scanners. An email (ours was from ‘Rosalie Silva’) appeared to offer details of all 1100 attendees at the Wellington conference, including client name, business name, title, email address, phone number, and web address, etc. Well, the conference hasn’t happened yet, and although it will be big it won’t be attended by 1100 people, either. FANZ CEO Robyn Pickerill says, ‘FANZ respects the privacy of its members and conference delegates, and does not sell attendees' details.’ See genuine details of the Conference, which takes place on 22-24 August - places are still available.

Read more at

August 2022 – A recent advertisement for a franchise opportunity in the USA has drawn attention for making claims that rely heavily on the small print, according to well-informed franchise commentators. It’s a reminder to franchise buyers to take care

28 July 2022 - Restaurant Brands has ruled out purchasing the Wendy's NZ chain of 22 stores recently put up for sale by the Lendich family. Restaurant Brands also owns the Carl's Jr brand in New Zealand and CEO Russell Creedy told NBR, 'One beef burger brand is enough for us.'

The NZ-listed company, which also operates Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell stores in New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii and California, yesterday announced its second quarter sales figures, saying that 'Covid-19 continues to affect Restaurant Brands’ business operations, with high case numbers resulting in staffing issues for the business as well as its contractors and suppliers.' Total sales were up by 8.2 percent over the previous year, supported by 17 new stores and the strengthening of the US dollar. Same store sales by region were as follows:

• New Zealand: Up 1.4 percent


• Australia: Up 5 percent


• Hawaii: Up 2.9 percent


• California: Down 3.0 percent

Restaurant Brands share price fell 9.4 percent after issuing a profit warning, saying it was struggling with Covid-related staffing issues and worldwide increases in costs.

Read the full report here.

Read more at https://www.restaurantbrand...

Four training programmes being held in May/June/July 2024 are designed to address the needs of the owners and managers of franchise systems, field managers and support office staff

July 2022 - The Franchise Association has a new Board for the coming year

'Beautiful kids' from a low-decile school in Christchurch have received long-overdue recognition through their prize-winning performances in The Coffee Club's annual Christmas Art competition after an emotional plea from their teacher. The competition with KidsCan, whose winners have been profiled every year by Franchise New Zealand, is a prime example of the contribution many franchises make to the communities they serve. According to the 2021 Franchising New Zealand Survey by Massey University, 24 percent of the franchise brands operating here contribute more than $100,000 each per year to the community.  

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

After a long period of stability, many countries – including New Zealand – are entering a new period of inflation. This impacts consumer spending and has a knock-on effect to business owners. So what can franchisors, franchisees and franchise buyers do about it?

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

30 June 2022 - the Franchise Association has extended entry deadlines for the 2022 Franchise Awards, as well as the earlybird booking deadline for the National Franchise Conference

June 2022 – Franchisees have been singled out for special treatment under the new Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. Simon Lord looks at what lies behind the decision

23 June 2022 – The New Zealand arm of the well-known Wendy’s hamburger chain is on the market, including all 22 company-owned stores

16 June 2022 – New Zealand banks have joined forces with CERT NZ, Consumer Protection, and Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) to warn Kiwis of new threats from scammers. The following information has been provided by MBIE

June 2022 - Future focus backed by impressive line-up of speakers at New Zealand's national franchise conference. Earlybird booking rates are now available until 15 July 2022

McDonald's has said it will permanently leave Russia after more than 30 years and has started to sell its 850 mostly company-owned restaurants there. Last year, Russia and Ukraine reportedly accounted for about 9% of McDonald's global sales. The company says it's the first time the company has ever exited a major market, but it was losing US$55 ($87m) million each month after closing its Russian restaurants in March.

Read more at https://www.bbc.com/news/bu...

June 2022 – Only a couple of months since the 2021 winners were announced, the 2022 Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards are open for entry. The new simplified entry process has proved popular, and there’s also a new category. The deadline for entry has now been extended to 15 July 2022.

5 May 2022 – Franchisees have been singled out for tougher treatment than other employers in a new visa category. Learn more in a free webinar on 30 May