Customers sit at outside tables at a re-opened TGI Fridays restaurant in Glasgow. Photo: ANDY BUCHANAN
New Zealand's love affair with global brands is set to expand with the introduction of nine new international franchise brands, including seven restaurant and two non-food brands.
Auckland-based The Franchise Coach, operated by Stewart Germann, had put in place a licencing agreement with London-headquartered global franchise marketing and advisory company, World Franchise Associates to sell a portfolio of brands, with annual turnover of $5 billion a year, employing tens of thousands of people around the world.
The brands on offer included TGI Fridays restaurant brand, which was founded in the United States in 1965 with nearly 700 restaurants in more than 50 countries.
Other brands included the Earl of Sandwich chain and the fast-growing Teriyaki Madness, which had expanded to more than 110 restaurants around the world since it was launched in 2005.
"Having access to this portfolio of global opportunities means that when Kiwi clients approach me, we can be very strategic about marrying them with the right sort of opportunity," Germann said.
World Franchise Associates managing partner Troy Franklin said The Franchise Coach was well placed to introduce the brands to New Zealand, with a 40-year track record in the business.
"Stewart is a globally regarded expert in franchise law, and his law firm, SGL, has for many years been involved in helping broker significant franchise deals, and facilitating and simplifying complex structural arrangements in the New Zealand market," Franklin said.
Germann said the due diligence and franchise application processes could begin immediately, with the right candidates.
"We can look at any relevant expertise, location, financial and lifestyle considerations they might have, and set prospective franchisees up with a recipe for success that's been tested in the most competitive global markets," Germann said, adding the process could take six-to-nine months to process.