The Bay of Plenty economy is expected to remain strong for the coming year with solid underlying growth and good prospects for 2020, say local business leaders.
By DAVID PORTER
“The regional economy is still very strong and sentiment appears to be really good,” said Nigel Tutt, chief executive, Priority One.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive
Matt Cowley added that businesses in the Bay were cautiously optimistic about 2020. But there are two main factors that are likely to affect what sort of year we have. The first is, of course, external issues that are largely beyond New Zealand’s control.
Recent years have been notable for a greater degree of international political and economic volatility than we have seen since the world emerged from the Global Financial Crisis.
The regional economy is still very strong and sentiment appears to be really good.”
- Nigel Tutt, Priority One.
The erratic US approach to trade by President Donald Trump’s government, the
on-off trade wars with various major partners, and Britain’s protracted Brexit problems, as well as political changes and unrest in regions from South America to the Middle East have all played a part in heightening instability.
Pre-election impact
The other major issue for New Zealand business is the fact that 2020 is an election year. There is a positive side to that. The New Zealand government, which has been regularly accused of incompetence during its term - think Kiwibuild - and of a lack of coherence and coordination between the three coalition parties, is likely to go out of its way to prime the economic pump in 2020.
Continued on page 5
Port a key driver of the Bay’s continuing economic success. Photo/Port of Tauranga.
The Bay of Plenty economy is expected to remain strong for the coming year with solid underlying growth and good prospects for 2020, say local business leaders. As reported in our cover story this month, the regional economy is still very strong and sentiment appears to be really good, with businesses cautiously optimistic about 2020.
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YEAR BOOK
But there are two main factors that are likely to affect what sort of year we have. The first is, of course, external issues that are largely beyond New Zealand’s control. Recent years have been notable for a greater degree of international political and economic volatility than we have seen since the world emerged from the Global Financial Crisis.
The erratic US approach to trade by President Donald Trump’s government, the on-off trade wars with various major partners, and Britain’s protracted Brexit problems, as well as political changes and unrest in regions from South America to the Middle East have all played a part in heightening instability.
The other major issue for New Zealand business is the fact that 2020 is an election year. There is a positive side to that. The New Zealand government, which has been regularly accused of incompetence during its term - think Kiwibuild - and of a lack of coherence and coordination between the three coalition parties, is likely to go out of its way to prime the economic pump in 2020.
The most obvious indica-
tion of a change in attitude has been Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s recent decision to take the advice of a range of economists and signal that he was willing to borrow cheaply and spend big on infrastructure in the coming years. We should not underestimate what a major change of policy this reflects for Labour. Robertson announced in December that the government would take advantage of historically low global interest rates - and New Zealand’s generally strong economy - to undertake “significant” spending on infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Bay of Plenty-headquartered Purpose Capital Impact Fund (PCIF) has achieved its first close target of raising $20 million and is now ready to begin investing in projects nationwide. The fund was launched in March 2019 by Bill Murphy, founder of early stage investment group Enterprise Angels. (See our Bay of Plenty Business News cover story, May-June 2019).
The fund is now officially active, but will remain open for further investment and is aiming to reach $30 million.
PCIF has already attracted several major investors, including the Tindall Foundation, K1W1, WEL Energy Trust, BayTrust, TECT and numerous private individuals and family trusts. K1W1’s Robbie Tindall said his family’s fund had always been about making a difference in New Zealand.
“Investing through Purpose Capital Impact Fund is another way for us to broaden and deepen our impact throughout the country.”
The new Bay fund reflects the increasing focus globally on Impact Investing, where corporate foundation heavyweights and high net-worth individuals are combining forces with the philanthropic sector and family trusts to invest in innovative solutions to social and environment problems.
And David Pilkington, chair of key local business driver the Port of Tauranga, has been named Chairperson of the Year in the Deloitte Top 200 Business Awards.
Deloitte Top 200 judge Cathy Quinn said that any entity Pilkington chaired had performed financially and grown consistently during his tenure.
Pilkington joined the Port of Tauranga Board in July 2005 and has been chair since 2013. Since then, Port of Tauranga has successfully completed its strategy to become “big ship capable” and is now by far New Zealand’s largest port. The company’s market capitalisation has more than doubled during his tenure to more than $4.6 billion. His win made it a hat trick for the port at the annual national business awards. Chief executive Mark Cairns won for Chief Executive of the Year in 2012, while Chief Financial Officer, Steve Gray, won CFO of the Year Award in 2017.
Since the launch of our monthly newspaper Bay of Plenty Business News in 2016, we have become the most credible and well-read source of business information in the region.
We felt there was also a need for a quality annual publication that celebrated the range and quality of the many businesses and benefits of the Bay and have been delighted by the support our first edition received from so many notable enterprises in the Bay region.
Year Book 2019-2020 will build on our successful, inaugural first edition. We invite you to profile your business in this prestigous annual that profiles and ‘Celebrates Bay Business’.
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David Porter
Optimistic outlook for the Bay’s
economy in 2020
From page 1
The most obvious indication of a change in attitude has been Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s recent decision to take the advice of a range of economists and signal that he was willing to borrow cheaply and spend big on infrastructure in the coming years.
We should not underestimate what a major change of policy this reflects. Labour
inherited a strong economy from the previous National Government and is highly sensitive about any perception that it is a “borrow and spend” government.
Robertson announced in December that the government would take advantage of historically low global interest rates - and New Zealand’s generally strong economy - to undertake “significant” spending on infrastructure, with more
The need for infrastructure investment is the most unifying issue for communities across the Western Bay of Plenty.” - Matt Cowley
information promised for January. As we went to press there was little detail about the scale of the spending package. But the announcement reflects real concern by the government about its reelection prospects.
Robertson described it as a “once in a generation” fiscal opportunity. The government can now borrow at an interest rate of just 1.3 percent for 10 yearsan all-time low.
The announcement is welcome news for Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr, who has been calling on the government to spend more money to help stimulate the economy. And it has been a call voiced by a number of independent and commercial bank economists for months.
Too little, too late?
The problem is that by coming to a decision on infrastructure spending this late in the election cycle, the government may have left it too late, given how long the impact will take to trickle through to the wider economy.
Orr has said he will be watching the government closely to see if it actually spends what it said it was planning to over the coming years. But the reality for Bay of Plenty is that the region is in a good position, and in particular the Western Bay.
“We don’t see any immediate problems,” said Nigel Tutt. “In the near future all business sectors appear to be doing well
Continued on page 6 Matt Cowley
Bay of Plenty.
Another record-breaking year expected for Bay kiwifruit. Photo/Supplied.
Optimistic outlook for the Bay’s economy in 2020
infrastructure and how it coped with the population growth.
and having a good outlook. If we look forward the outlook is more subdued than it was at this time last year. How that will affect our region - particular the exporters - we’re not sure. But there are no warning signs.”
Tutt said he believed central government would throw money to the region and invest more in infrastructure as it comes up to election time.
But he said that the region faced some challenges around
He acknowledged that, even if the government went ahead and borrowed to fund major infrastructure projects, infrastructure building took time.
“We need aggressive action fairly quickly, particularly around freeing up land for housing intensification and transportation projects.”
In its most recent Infometrics economic report, Priority One said GDP (provisional) in the Western Bay of Plenty district was up 2.6 percent for the year to September
2019 compared with a year earlier. Growth was slightly higher than in New Zealand (2.4 percent) and higher than in Bay of Plenty region (2.5 percent).
Global growth expectations remain lower, particularly regarding China, other Asian economies, and Germany, said Infometrics. Domestically, slowing private expenditure and falling business investment remains a drag on growth, and there are growing calls, and solidifying expectations, for increased government spending, as signalled by Robertson’s infrastructure announcement.
Bay growth still good GDP (provisional) was $1,731 million in Western Bay of Plenty district for the year to September 2019 (2010 prices). Annual GDP growth in Western Bay of Plenty district peaked at 7.6 percent in the year to September 2016.
But as Tutt noted in comments when releasing Priority One’s annual figures at it’s recent AGM, 2019 saw the Western BOP economy still in good shape after several years of growth.
“To continue regional growth we must confront challenges that we have in the form of infrastructure, where we desperately need investment in key assets, and the provision of talent, where our
Port quarterly results flat, but annual prospects good
The Port of Tauranga’s first quarter report, for the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 September 2019, showed that it handled nearly 6.8 million tonnes of cargo, a 1.1 percent decrease on the same period last year.
Log exports dropped 5.2 percent in volume to just over 1.7 million tonnes, following a sharp decrease in international prices and demand in the past few months.
Dairy product exports decreased 1.7 percent compared with the same period last year.
However, container numbers increased overall to more than 312,000 TEUs, a 5.8 percent increase on the first quarter of last financial year.
job creation is outstripping our supply of people,” he said.
“These two challenges are complicated to solve, and will require a team effort from businesses, local and central government alike.”
Tutt says that despite these challenges, the Western Bay had much to be optimistic about.
“Our economy is very strong with great base assets like Port of Tauranga, our hospital and wider health sector, The University of Waikato’s expansion and our capital networks,” he said, adding that the port was a great driver (see acompanying story).
“We’re particularly encouraged by both the health of the main sectors of this economy and the number of
Transhipments, where a container is transferred from one service to another at Tauranga, increased 9.2 percent to more
What’s in view for 2020
Franchising Trends
The end of a year and the start of a new one is always a great time to contemplate and plan for what’s coming.
It is also a great opportunity for us to review the crystal ball gazing we did earlier in 2019 with what’s trending in franchising.
Time to polish the crystal ball for the coming year. So how did our trend predictions play out this year, and what’s going to trend and where are the opportunities in 2020?
Multi-brand franchisors
Big tick here, in the food category alone, with BurgerFuel World Wide re-focusing on the New Zealand market and introducing two new brands.
Columbus Coffee owners Café Brands purchased the Mexico group, Coffee Club has started to expand Bird on a Wire and perennial creators and owners of Mexicali and Burger Wisconsin expanding the Ha Poke brand and working on future brands. A focus on product diversification and market segmentation will see other mature franchisors develop and introduce additional brands to their portfolios and existing franchise base.
Multi-site and multi-brand franchisees
We may have been a bit ahead of ourselves here, so this is still a watch this space as the sector matures, but it’s happening.
Again, innovation is emerging with multi-brand single location franchisees increasing their offerings and market appeal and combating ever rising operating costs.
Health and well-being
Goes from strength to strength, multiple and new fitness brands continue to expand, often in places that you would not expect. Workouts are getting shorter and somewhat more interesting.
Based on the US and Australian markets, we will continue to see change and innovation in this consumer - and in turn franchise - market space.
Commercialising and eventual franchising in the mental health space is an area to keep an eye on.
An environmental focus
I predicted disappearing plastic bags were just the beginning –and was this an underestimate.
Consumers drive the future of brands and if worldwide student protests are an insight into the future of consumption, then it’s green. Overseas markets have seen massive growth in bulk retailing, which is emerging in New Zealand.
A couple of areas to also watch will be systems focused on recycling and resource use reduction, whether conversion of existing processes such as making your house more ecofriendly or incorporated into delivery of their core service or product.
innovative growth companies that are thriving in the area. Our unique mix of lifestyle, purposeful industries and scale of businesses will allow us to attract and retain talent in the area.”
Tutt said Priority One had reset its strategy to take a wider, more inclusive, view of the economy’s contribution to its community.
“Our goals are for the economy to create value to deliver prosperity to all of our community, and for our economy to be growing in a sustainable manner,” he said.
“We view the creation and encouragement of high value jobs, and getting our own people into them, as the biggest
executive Mark Cairns said unaudited Group Net Profit After Tax for the first quarter was $21.7 million, down 6.3 percent from $23.2 million in the previous corresponding period.
“Based on the first quarter’s performance, and notwithstanding any significant market changes, we expect full year earnings to be between $96 and $101 million,” said Cairns. “This is the same guidance we gave at last year’s Annual Meeting for this year’s record result.”
Plant-based food
FRANCHISING
> BY NATHAN BONNEY
Nathan Bonney is a director of Iridium Partners. He can be reached at nathan@iridium.net.nz or 0275-393-022
franchising and a major crowdfunding exercise.
Shared and gig economies
My prediction for 2019 was this “will be a category to watch as it becomes mainstream”.
Almost all the major food franchise brands are now chasing a segment of the plantbased food market.
New Zealand’s only 100 percent plant-based branded offering - Lord of the Friesis looking to expand through
Technology
We identified disruption and technology as the macro-trend of our times.
Disruption will continue in large, noticeable ways as well as the insidious creep of technology, hardwired into processes such as AI.
As predicted, there were big developments in this area also with the world’s largest shared office space provider IWG introducing and rolling out a franchise model across New Zealand.
On a smaller scale, expect to see savvy franchisors explore ideas to pool capital
and human resources in all sorts of franchises from social enterprise cafes to ride sharing.
Other factors that will influence New Zealand franchising in 2020
The economy. Local and international pessimism persists. This may drive an interest in franchising generally as people look to exit corporate life for a sense of control and relative stability.
However, a changing banking environment could potentially make funding harder.
Concerns over the introduction of legislation are re-emerging, which may be either tempered or could flare up with an election looming in the latter part of 2020.
than 92,000 TEUs.
Port of Tauranga chief
Mark Cairns
The consumer is king
Investment Market Update, the quarter ended 30 November 2019.
The past quarter saw a substantial improvement in financial market sentiment. At the start of the period recessionary risks were being constantly highlighted.
However, by the end of November, these concerns were regarded as overblown. The consensus view now is that the global economic backdrop will improve through 2020. Sentiment has improved as consumer and business data has proved resilient in the face of trade tensions and other geopolitical risks.
In New Zealand, stronger data has included a better than expected bounce in retail sales that, when combined with continued strength in
our commodity prices, has led to our terms of trade (the price New Zealand receives for its exports compared with the price it pays for imports boosting the country’s earnings) hovering around record highs. This has also resulted in a surprisingly strong rebound in business confidence.
Underpinning the improved global economic outlook has been the strength of households (or consumers).
Central banks remain committed to maintaining short-term interest rates near historic low levels. Low rates reduce the borrowing and debt servicing costs of consumers. Additionally, higher asset prices (including houses and equities) have created a pos-
itive “wealth effect”, boosting consumer sentiment. Lower rates have stimulated a pick-up in housing activity in most developed markets, including in New Zealand, Australia, and the US. This should flow through to improved consumer spending during the first half of 2020.
Low rates and an improving economic outlook encourage companies
Another consequence of low interest rates and greater confidence in the economic outlook has been a sharp resurgence in global corporate merger and acquisition activity. In November, on what’s been labelled “Merger Monday”, US$60 billion worth of deals were announced on one day. Deals included brokerage
Charles Schwab agreeing to buy rival TD Ameritrade and France’s LVMH (the world’s largest luxury goods company) acquiring jewellery company Tiffany & Co. LMVH is reportedly funding its acquisition of Tiffany & Co with a bond issue paying less than one percent interest. Closer to home, in Australia, Canada-based convenience retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard made a bid for Caltex. In New Zealand in recent weeks we have seen Abano Healthcare’s Board agree to a takeover offer, and Metlifecare announcing that it has received an “expression of interest … to acquire the company”. We expect M&A
will continue to be a theme of markets in 2020.
Investors have been rewarded for sticking to basics
The past quarter highlights how quickly the winds of economic sentiment can shift, and how nerve-racking markets can be for investors who focus on the daily geo-political and economic noise the media creates.
Investors who have stuck to core disciplines of a longterm focus and a diversified portfolio have been rewarded with the “market risk premium”, which means that higher long-term returns will
Optimistic outlook for the Bay’s economy in 2020
From page 6 many ways, but we need to attract investment,” he said.
contribution we can make to our community. We must collectively deliver higher incomes to the people of Tauranga Moana.” Tutt told Bay of Plenty Business News that Tauranga was New Zealand’s fastest growing city, now with around 144,000 people.
“Population growth is healthy for the economy in
“We’re seeing businesses coming either as branches or in their own right, and there will be some larger announcements in the New Year,” he said.
Export conditions positive
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt
Cowley said the overseas trade risks appearing to be de-escalating, and the conditions for exporters also appeared to remain positive for the near future.
“The region is looking towards another great summer with the possibility of back-to-back record-breaking kiwifruit seasons. Our summer events calendar is also jam-packed, which will extend our festive season.
This is as well as more than 110 cruise ships to dock at our local port.”
Cowley said that this year’s increases to public sector wages for police, teachers, and healthcare should further boost demand for local tourism, hospitality and retail operators.
“The government’s yearon-year surplus will also put pressure on both sides of the government to review their revenue and spending policies leading up to the 2020 election,” he said.
“Government is already signalling their intentions to invest in infrastructure to keep up with the continued population growth. It will be incredibly disappointing if the Bay of Plenty
compensate investors for bearing additional investment risk. While we don’t expect medium-term returns to continue to match those we’ve seen year-to-date, the returns we have seen do highlight the benefit of sticking to investing basics.
This column is general in nature and is not personalised investment advice. This column has been prepared in good faith based on information obtained from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. Disclosure Statements for Forsyth Barr Authorised Financial Advisers are available on request and free of charge.
region was missed off the infrastructure portfolio. The need for infrastructure investment is the most unifying issue for communities across Western Bay of Plenty.”
The region is looking towards another great Summer with the possibility of back-to-back record-breaking kiwifruit seasons.”
BEWARE OF FOREIGN IMITATIONS.
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At James & Wells, we can identify your competitive edge, offer business strategies for specific markets and help you own and leverage your intellectual property to ensure no one steals the fruit of your labour.
Trustpower Baypark -
Tauranga’s
Premier Venue
The Feelers and Stellar: All the Hits Summer Tour kicks off our summer concert series on the 20 December. Schoolboy friends
James Reid and Hamish Gee started a legacy in The Feelers that has spawned some of the greatest songs written in New Zealand.
They will be bringing their anthems to New Zealanders alongside their mates Stellar (stylised Stellar*) the pop/rock band led by vocalist Boh Runga,in a nostalgic reunion of two illustrious NZ bands
With a brief break to celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day, our next concert is on 27 December, where you can come and groove the night away with Katchafire, the Black Seeds and Tomorrow People.
No summer would be complete without the mighty Shapeshifter. The record-breaking, chart-topping Shapeshifter are an integral part of New Zealand music culture. Get in early to secure your tickets for 28 December, and make memories once again this summer.
And we are now mid-way through the Speedway season, with plenty more action-packed nights coming up over Summer. These include the International Midget 40 Lap Gold Cup – 28 December, South Pacific Super Saloon Championship – 5 January, the New Zealand Sprint Car Grand Prix – 18 January, and Speedway on 25 January.
Bring the whole family down for a night full of entertainment. If you are interested in watching the races from the comfort of one of our Corporate Boxes contact us for more information.
Bay Dreams lineup expands
Bay Dreams promoters are also thrilled to reveal Halsey and Tyler, The Creator as two of 2020’s headliners. They are joined by Skepta; Yelawolf; Ella Mai; Ocean Alley; Netsky; Mitch James; Gunna; IAMDDB; Shoreline Mafia; Winston Surfshirt; Sons of Zion; Sub Focus; Friction; Sasasas; Dimension; Kings of the Rollers; Flux Pavilion; Golden Features; Holy Goof; Benny L; Dirtyphonics; UZ; Trei; Tones and I; K+Lab; Flowidus; Distortion; and many more still to be announced. With Bay Dreams continuing to sell out year-after-year, tickets are in hot demand for this festival on 2 January.
Following the success of their latest album, timeless legends Sticky Fingers have announced a “Yours To Keep Tour”. This seven-date tour throughout New Zealand will land here on 3 January, 2020. Tones And I will be playing in Tauranga for their only headline show in New Zealand on 5 January.
Originally from Australia’s Mornington Peninsula, Tones And I is having a massive breakout year. She’s taken the world by storm with her smash hit ‘Dance Monkey’ (currently #1 in New Zealand).
1-Day Sale
And the 1-Day is coming back in 2020. It will offer big savings on all your favourite Gadgets, Big Brand Apparel, Toys, Appliances, Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, Confectionery, and much, much more. First in, first served – once it’s gone, it’s gone. We thin this event’s going to be a pretty big deal. Why? It’s pretty –and saving has never looked so sweet. It’s big with 1000s of bargains to get amongst. The Arena will be jampacked full of crazy 1-day bargains. This three day extravaganza runs from 9 to 11 January.
Trustpower Baypark continues to break the yearly attendance records at our Summer events and throughout the year. With the multitude of entertainment, business events, sporting events and trade shows, the number of events just keep growing. And business is already gearing up for 2020. Remember we can provide a complete service for your event, including state of the art conference and meeting rooms, full PCO event management services, in-house catering, audio-visual services and marketing/promotions. Meet at Baypark for your next event.
Upcoming highlights for
2020 also include: the Tattoo & Art Extravaganza on 14 & 15 March, Splice Magic vs Northern Stars on 23 March, and the Pacific Rim 2020 Gymnastics
from 17-19
Action-packed speedway magic for all. Photo/Supplied.
The Feelers and Stellar* reunion tour. Photo/Supplied.
Pioneering Bay impact investing fund raises $20 million
The Bay of Plenty-headquartered Purpose Capital Impact Fund (PCIF) has achieved its first close target of raising $20 million and is now ready to begin investing in projects nationwide.
By DAVID PORTER
The fund is now officially active, but will remain open for further investment and is aiming to reach $30 million.
The fund was launched in March 2019 by Bill Murphy, founder of early stage investment group Enterprise Angels.
(See our Bay of Plenty Business News cover story, MayJune 2019).
PCIF has already attracted several major investors, including the Tindall Foundation, K1W1, WEL Energy Trust, BayTrust, TECT and numerous private individuals and family trusts.
It’s been a great challenge, but the commercial sector is very open to the idea of impact investing.”
– Bill Murphy
K1W1’s Robbie Tindall said his family’s fund had always been about making a difference in New Zealand.
“Investing through Purpose Capital Impact Fund is another way for us to broaden and deepen our impact throughout the country.”
The new Bay fund reflects the increasing focus globally on Impact Investing, where corporate foundation heavyweights and high net-worth individuals are combining forces with the philanthropic sector and family trusts to invest in innovative solutions to social and environment problems.
Scaling up corporate partnership
In New Zealand, it is the first time the commercial sector has partnered with community trusts and individuals on this scale with the aim of creating positive social change as well as making a profit.
Potential opportunities include regenerative agriculture on dairy farms, urban transportation, green housing, social housing and social
improvement through horticulture projects partnering with rural iwi.
Murphy said he was inspired by the success of impact investing overseas and felt he was well-placed to introduce the concept here.
“I felt very excited and somewhat intimidated by the opportunity to be part of getting it going in New Zealand,” he said.
“It’s been a great challenge, but the commercial sector is very open to the idea of impact investing. They firmly believe that taking commercial business and investment disciplines and applying those to social and environmental
If you are considering your current investment arrangements, perhaps it’s time to get a complimentary review
Forsyth Barr is a New Zealand owned firm with 21 offices nationwide including three offices in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions. Supported by Forsyth Barr’s research and investment expertise, our Investment Advisers can work with you to deliver a personalised approach taking into account your investment objectives, preferences and your tolerance for risk.
To make an obligation free appointment to discuss your investment arrangements, contact your local Forsyth Barr office by calling 0800 367 227. We look forward to discussing how our investment advice can work for you.
change will yield results.”
Experienced investment team
The fund is being led by a highly experienced team. Directors include Jon Mayson (former Port of Tauranga CEO and chair of NZTE and Scales Corporation), Steve Tucker (Gallagher Group executive chair), and David McCallum (director of the investment banking team at Deutsche Craigs).
“Bringing a performance aspect to driving social change is something that we’re all really excited about and using our commercial skills to create more meaning than just more
money,” said Murphy, adding that the challenge now was to find the right projects to begin investing in.
“Given the immaturity of the eco-system for impact investing in New Zealand, we are having to go look for opportunities and help shape those for investment,” he said.
“We can’t simply sit back and wait for things to come to us. We have to be aware of aspirational social and environmental changes out there and engage with them.”
The philanthropic sector, and the contacts they have, will be invaluable in this regard, he says.
“They’re also a key partner
as additional resources will be required to take that pro-active approach to engagement with really great environmental and social change projects to help bring those to life and make those investable.”
It will focus predominately across the central North Island but will consider investments outside of this region when the right opportunities exist.
“We’ve had very strong investment support to date from Bay of Plenty and Waikato so it was pleasing to have three Auckland-based funds put the icing on the cake by helping us reach $20m – The Tindall Foundation, K1W1 and The Wilberforce Foundation”.
Purpose Capital Impact Fund executive team leaders Bill Murphy and Kristen Joiner. Photo/Supplied.
One way to sell your business for more
Quite often when a vendor goes to sell a business, they have had enough and want it sold in short order. The vendor assistance period (if any) is often quite short.
Now in most business
sales the vendors sell
100 percent of the business outright. However, there are times when a vendor could do better out of a business sale if they considered staggering the sale out over a few years by selling incrementally to a new owner.
Historically these arrangements have tended to take place when an existing employee has been identified to one day take over as owner. However, I believe that we will see proportionately more businesses that will consider an arrangement like this to maximise the price they get.
One of the downsides of a standard business sale process
Involving a minority shareholder is a significant decision, but one that should be considered as part of any succession planning process.”
is that potentially the buyer pool can be limited. Say a business is worth $1million and is listed at that with a broker. Unfortunately, not all potential buyers have $1million in the bank, or access to enough finance.
Now this is a generalisation, but more and more people in the business buying phase of life are closer to the start than the end of large home mortgages. They have not benefited from strong real estate markets, so they do not have a lot of equity built up. And that limits the buying pool.
Here are a couple of advantages to selling a business over time in this manner:
1. Over the years that the vendor is still a partial shareholder, they are still making their share of ongoing profits – they may have missed out on some of these had they sold outright.
2. A deal like this may allow an element of vendor finance. If a deal like this is available it may make the buyer pool larger, which could make the business more valuable.
3. This offers the ability for a
BETTER BUSINESS BUYING
> BY TOM BESWICK Director
at Ingham Mora Chartered Accountants in Tauranga, is a business advisor who specialises in buying and selling businesses. He can be contacted on 027-5744- 019 or tom@inghammora.co.nz
smooth transition between owners as the new owner is really embedded in the business before the original vendor completely sells out.
4. Where a business is heavily dependent on the original owner, then it is a way to achieve a much higher sale price than would otherwise be the case in an outright sale.
Yes there a few downsides as clearly a business sale arrangement like this is going to take much more work than an outright sale. Here are a couple:
1. The process is more complicated and takes more time. It means the vendor is tied up with the business – they need to ensure they leave a few years to exit slowly, rather than waking
up one day and deciding they will list the business.
2. The vendor retains the risk of being in business – if performance drops then they may earn less from the sale.
3. Finding the right buyer who you can transition ownership to (and who you can work with daily) can be a challenge. I believe there is a grow-
ing untapped pool of business buyers out there.
People who have the skills and desire to own and run a business, but do not have the equity and need a way forward be able to buy.
If you are thinking about exiting your business, then you may have more options than you realise.
Involving a minority shareholder is a significant decision, but one that should be considered as part of any succession planning process. It may give you more in the bank, a steadier handover process, and the ability to ensure your “baby” is in good hands before you close the door for the last time.
Getting great advice about your options is key.
project with better knowledge.
Our immense local knowledge, combined with our years of experience, has seen Stratum become a leading land development and land utilisation consultant in the Bay of Plenty and throughout the North Island.
Every day we exceed expectations and deliver better outcomes for our valued clients.
Why workforce planning should be your New Year’s resolution
Okay, so who’s made a New Year’s resolution?
Many people see the new year as a time to reflect, re-evaluate, set goals and take those first steps towards a new, improved version of themselves.
Your workforce is no different.
As festive indulgences catch up with us and we swear off sugar, alcohol and late nights, employers’ thoughts should also turn to sustainable, long term goals for keeping their workforce in tip-top shape.
Workforce planning means ensuring you have the right people, with the right skills, at the right time. It means not being understaffed, or overstaffed. And not getting caught short.
Sound about as achievable as abstaining from wine and chocolate for a whole year? It may not be 100 percent achievable, but with the right strategic planning, you can front-foot your business or organisation’s employment needs before they arise.
Well thought-out workforce planning can not only help you attract the right talent, it can help you develop the employees you already have to make the most of their strengths.
And with the current tight employment market, that’s got to be a good thing, right?
Some things to consider:
Analyse your current talent pool
Take a deeper look at your workforce. Where does understaffing most typically occur? Is there a large turnover in one particular area? Do you have long-term employees who are nearing retirement age? Are there employees who could move up the ranks, or sideways?
Look to the future
Align your current employees’ skillsets with the strategic direction of your business or organisation. What projects do you have coming up? What skill deficiencies do you have in fulfilling these? Can you outsource any of the upcoming work?
Make a plan
Once you have identified any gaps in your current and future staffing needs, it’s important to put a plan in place. That could involve developing current employees through additional training, or hiring new employees. If you are recruiting, how many people do you need? And what will your recruitment process look like?
Workforce planning is a wider function than just HR. It involves multiple depart-
ments, from the financial to the marketing team. Call on the in-house expertise, knowledge and experience you need to get it right.
Evaluate and re-evaluate
Workplaces are constantly evolving, and with them workforce requirements. It’s important to regularly revisit your plan, and evaluate whether it’s achieving its intended purpose. Any failings will provide important
insights into how you can fine-tune your strategy going forward. If this all sounds like common sense - that’s because
RESOURCES
HAMLETT
it is. But it’s surprising how many businesses take a kneejerk approach to staffing, which can be both inefficient and costly.
Planning ahead means you can anticipate both realistic timeframes and costs. Now that’s a New Year’s resolution worth keeping.
An eye for detail pays off
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES
> BY BEN CAIN
Ben Cain is a Senior Associate at James & Wells and a Resolution Institute-accredited mediator. He can be contacted at 07 928 4470 (Tauranga), 07 957 5660 (Hamilton), and benc@jaws.co.nz.
One of the most exciting parts of my job is seeing New Zealand companies take their ideas and leverage them. Our firm has recently worked with brothers Frank and Paul Austin, to take their revolutionary screw-less eyeglass frame design, the ZYclip, to the world. Here is their experience:
An engineer and industrial designer by trade, Frank started a successful lighting design and manufacturing company (Nimbus Lighting) in 1972, which used clip-together technology.
After years of dissatisfaction with how sunglasses are designed, the brothers were
inspired by the clip-on technology in their lighting products and set about creating an optical frame that wouldn’t require any screws, could be made in different colours, and was easily detachable to provide wearers with different looks.
Around 2011, armed with
designs and prototypes, Frank and Paul consulted with James & Wells partner Jonathan Lucas to develop a strategy for protecting and commercialising their invention.
“When Frank and Paul came to me with their initial designs, I thought they looked really promising,” said Lucas.
“People think hugely complicated inventions are needed to obtain patents. But so many good designs are simple or involve relatively small changes to existing technology. If they do the job better than what is already out there, a patent might be possible.”
Assessing patentability
Lucas was able to assess the patentability of their idea,
establish whether there was freedom to operate, and help guide their thinking around how they could leverage their IP. Rather than manufacture the product themselves, the brothers hoped to license their design to an eyewear company, so they worked with Jonathan to realise this vision, and ensure any deal they entered into would be in their best interests.
“We enjoy the design process – finding solutions to problems and tweaking the product until it is perfect,” said Paul Austin.
“We didn’t really want to build an eyewear company from scratch - instead we preferred to partner with an established, reputable retailer.”
Licensing can be a great option. When compared with self-manufacturing, there is less investment required and less risk, businesses become profitable faster and can access potentially tricky markets. It also allows inventors and designers to focus on the areas they enjoy and are strongest in rather than worrying about operations and management.
Having IP protection in place gives licensees the assurance that they have sole access to the innovative technology.
In 2013, after a lot of experimenting and refinement of their concept, Frank and Paul approached the Australasian team of eyewear company Specsavers – the third-largest prescription eyewear company in the world. They loved the product and eventually signed a licensing agreement giving them certain distribution rights to the technology around the world.
“Specsavers loved the concept and introduced it into their ranges, a big call for such a large company. We now hope that they will eventually use this screw-less method in all their glasses frames,” said Paul Austin.
Collaborative partnership
The partnership with Specsavers has been truly collaborative, with the brothers being able to customise the product to Specsavers’ needs. “We used the mechanism from our prototype but incorporated Specsavers’ insights to create a product that was right for their customer.”
The range of feather-light, screw-less frames has recently been launched into 380 stores across New Zealand and Australia. There is potential to extend distribution to a network of 1800 Specsavers stores internationally.
Said Lucas: “Paul and Frank are dynamic, clever and easy to work with. They respect professional advice and have a lot of commercial nous. They understood that they had to create their own opportunity and I was impressed at how fast they were able to secure a deal.”
Frank Austin was quick to acknowledge Jonathan’s role in their success. “Over 40 years we have dealt with a number of patent attorneys. Jonathan stands out. His experience and knowledge of IP enabled him to advise, coax and, at times, challenge us to come up with solutions. As a result, what started as a simple idea has become a commercially viable method of making eyewear.”
The brothers now have their sights set on the US, where Specsavers don’t operate. They plan to sign a similar deal with a US retail chain. Bright optics indeed.
Microsoft Ignite 2019
Microsoft Ignite was held in Orlando, Florida in late 2019. The annual technology conference gets 26,000 attendees and hosts more than 1500 sessions.
The sessions cover everything from OneNote and Project through to the latest developments in AI, Machine Learning and Quantum Computing.
Diversity and inclusion are core elements of the Microsoft mission to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.
The speed of technology change and breadth of skills and disciplines now in the technology sector is truly amazing.
Three that I felt showcased the development within Microsoft were Project Silica, The Power Platform and Project Cortex.
Bit nerdy (Project Silica)
With an estimated 100 zettabytes of data being stored by 2023, there is a need for low cost, high capacity, resilient storage. Microsoft and partners have developed a high capacity 3D storage solution by using lasers to etch the data into quartz glass. The videos are reminiscent of low budget 20th century sci-fi movies, where aliens from the future have stored their knowledge a small glass memory cube. https:// youtu.be/6CzHsibqpIs
Business productivity (The Power Platform)
Microsoft has been building
The encouragement to transform businesses by guiding them to the cloud, introducing plenty of opportunities and areas for growth will allow businesses to work smarter, not harder.”
out their Power Platform suite for the last couple of years.
The aim is to build a set of tools that can quickly and easily be used to help businesses develop tools and solutions to address their own unique business requirements.
Power BI for Business Intelligence and reporting, PowerApps for creating simple mobile applications and Power Automate to automate those day-to-day routine processes.
The latest versions of these tools increase the integration into your legacy applications.
Allowing you to automate tasks such as inputting invoices into your accounting package, or time sheets into your payroll. The limitation with these tools is your imagination.
We partner with you to deliver endto-end property services to help you achieve your objectives.
Workplace Intelligence (Project Cortex)
Over-time we develop contracts, policies, processes, configuration standards and a plethora of other collateral and knowledge we hope our staff are reading and following.
This unstructured data gets filed in word documents, wiki pages, e-mails and excel spreadsheets in what we all personally feel is a logical location, though no one else can ever find it.
Project Cortex is about bringing that data to those who need it, using AI and contextual search to scan, index and build relevant knowledge for your users.
For instance, a search for “What is our company’s pet policy?” would result in the system automatically building
TECH TALK
>
BY DANIEL GOYMER
Daniel Goymer is the Technical Director of Yorb, a Business Technology Partner. He can be reached on Daniel.goymer@yorb. tech or 0800-600-606.
a knowledge article for the individual based on employment contract templates, company handbooks and any other company accessible data.
The system will then provide links to the documents it gathered the data from and contacts you can talk to regarding the topic.
This technology was certainly one of the most interesting at the conference and
the one which could have the biggest impact on dealing with information management.
This is not a new service you need to subscribe to; it is being implemented into your standard Office 365 subsxcription.
With more than 150 announcements, Microsoft did not disappoint. Revealing insights into Project Silica, the Power Platform, and Project Cortex.
The capabilities within Microsoft impressed the masses with their efforts towards enhancing workflow and optimising productivity in the workplace.
The encouragement to transform businesses by guiding them to the cloud, introducing plenty of opportunities and areas for growth will allow businesses to work smarter, not harder.
Bay of plenty
First on the scene
When is the right time to sell your business? Right now.
At TABAK, we promise to guide you through the sales process with focus, integrity and complete confidentiality.
2 4 6 1 3 5 11 12
8 10 7 9
3 Rachael Gemming, EY; Eric Smith, Stratus Blue; Matt Cooney, SwipedOn and Kimberley Irwin, Tompkins Wake.
4 David Le Breton, Hobson Wealth; Hadleigh Ford, SwipedOn and Fraser Mills, BNZ.
5 Peter and Jacqui Wren-Hilton, AgritechNZ; Greg Shanahan, TIN and Adrienne Ramskill, TIN.
6 Ben Cain, James & Wells and Rachel Scott, Tompkins Wake.
7 Jason Low, Trimax Mowers; Pip Loader, PipLoader.com and AJ Prinsloo, Radfords. 8 Sacha Philp, Robert Walters and Heidi Darcy, Comvita. 9 Mark Allen, BNZ and Salim Al-Mudallal, C3.
10 Lachie McKenzie, BNZ and Ian Gray, Cucumber. 11 Matt Cowley, Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and Scott Hamilton, Quayside Holdings. 12 Nick Pharo, Datacom and Greg Jarvis, Bluelab.
Photos from the recent Technology Investment Network (TIN) event hosted by EY Tauranga at The Vault in Tauranga.
Photos/Salina Galvan Photography
1 Nigel Tutt, Priority One; Greg Jarvis, Bluelab and Mark Irving, Priority One. 2 John Olsen with Matt Cooney, Hadleigh Ford and Paul Hansen, SwipedOn.
Port chair Pilkington wins leading national business award
Port of Tauranga Limited’s David Pilkington was named Chairperson of the Year in the Deloitte Top 200 Business Awards.
By DAVID PORTER
Deloitte Top 200 judge Cathy Quinn said that any entity Pilkington chaired had performed financially and grown consistently during his tenure.
“He is an inclusive chair and facilitates an environment to get the best out of people and has been selected as the winner due to his track record of success as a chair over a long period.”
Pilkington joined the Port of Tauranga Board in July 2005 and has been chair since 2013. Since then, Port of Tauranga
has successfully completed its strategy to become “big ship capable” and is now by far New Zealand’s largest port.
The company’s market capitalisation has more than doubled during his tenure to more than $4.6 billion.
His win made it a hat trick for the port at the annual national business awards.
Chief executive Mark Cairns won for Chief Executive of the Year in 2012, while Chief Financial Officer, Steve Gray, won CFO of the Year Award in 2017.
Cairns said Pilkington’s win was well-deserved.
“I appreciate David’s
steady and pragmatic leadership style, as well as his deep understanding and experience in governance,” he said.
“He ensures a diverse range of opinions are heard from around the board table. His foresight has helped us stay focused on our long-term goals, while remaining flexible and responsive to our operating environment.”
Pilkington had a very direct approach and did not shy away from pulling the management team into line when he saw the need, said Cairns
Pilkington was previously a member of Fonterra’s senior executive and has a strong background in marketing, international business and supply chain logistics. He holds directorships in Port of Tauranga Trustee Company Limited and PrimePort Timaru
Limited. He is also chair of Douglas Pharmaceuticals Limited, and Rangatira Limited. He was chair of Northport until November, but stepped down in line with the company’s two-year rotational policy.
His foresight has helped us stay focused on our longterm goals, while remaining flexible and responsive to our operating environment.”
- Mark Cairns
David Pilkington: Pragmatic and inclusive. Photo/Supplied.
Treat people well for the best outcomes
CREDIT MANAGEMENT
> BY NICK KERR
Nick
Kerr
is
Area Manager
BOP for EC Credit Control NZ Ltd.
He can be reached at nick.kerr@eccreditcontrol.co.nz
After 13 years in the credit management field I’ve learned something really important that I would like to share.
In particular, in the past four years we have run NZ Repossession Services, we have carried out more than 300 incident-free high-risk repossessions involving debtors with serious criminal violent offending histories and/ or who are active Methamphetamine users. And I have found that no matter who the person is, or what activity you are doing, your attitude and approach is everything.
We have woken up people at 6.30am who most people would not want to come across on their best day to hand them a winning lotto ticket for fear of violent reprisal, and relieved them of their only vehicle. The way we do this is not exactly ground-breaking. We simply treat people with respect, compassion and we always act with a spirit of resolution, not one of dominance or superiority.
We are either on the doorstep to cause a problem or fix a problem. And those are the two ways that we can be viewed. People want to help you fix a problem for them - and they will always want to stop you causing one. It is ingrained to respond in kind to how you are spoken to. If you went into a church, rest home, or any other typically serene and non-combative environment and looked for a fight, I would bet you’d find it if you looked hard enough. As noted, the reaction you get is a result of the action you take and the attitude you bring with you. Once someone feels threatened or cornered, they will react in one of two ways - fight or flee. But neither of those options are what we want in the recovery of assets. Violent interactions, no matter how they end up, cause a huge
amount of paperwork and follow-up investigations if not a Ministry of Justice / police investigation.
In addition, our client’s asset could be at risk of damage or destruction. In short, no one wins if everyone loses. Our company has an over 95 percent success rate in the recovery of assets for clients, which shows that you can achieve ethical profitability even in the most unlikely industry.
When we began doing repossession work, we made a conscious decision to set ourselves apart from the aggressive, thuggish Neanderthal image that has beset our industry due to unrealistic “reality“ TV portrayals of unintelligent repo agents getting into scraps on every job and embarrassing the debtors for the entertainment of couch potatoes.
I count myself fortunate that I found myself in a horrendous financial situation as a younger and much less prudent individual. Then I had a few things repossessed and nearly found myself going bankrupt. After
15 years and a lot of hard work I am no longer in a bad place financially. But I know exactly how it feels to be on the other side of this transaction.
So how could I ever dare look down on people who are only different to myself because of the passage of time? I have learned how to get out of debt the hard way and love seeing others do the same. Even
something as small as informing the debtor that the default fees stop when the asset is repossessed, and that this could save them $50-$100 a week, can make a huge difference. It can help them understand that they could move on and get ahead, rather than languishing under mounting fees by hiding themselves or the asset.
In any interaction with
another human, there is the opportunity to either harm or help. When you have the opportunity to encounter someone who a large section of society would look down upon, sometimes a simple show of respect and compassion from someone who has been there can make a world of difference.
Just a thought.
Exhibition Summer in the Capital
ARTS AND CULTURE
> BY ALICE HUTCHISON
Alice Hutchison is the director of the Tauranga Art Gallery. She can be reached on director@artgallery.org.nz.
Wellington offers a diverse visual treat this summer.
There are new exhibitions on view at City Gallery, Te Papa. In addition, Kelcy Taratoa’s new paintings were at Bartley + Co (run by gallerist Allison Bartley) concurrent with our survey exhibition and new wall paintings at Tauranga Art Gallery, the Adam Art Gallery is celebrating its 20th anniversary and a major new acquisition, and Enjoy Contemporary Art Space offers a fresh new commission.
Te Papa has mounted an ambitious new project with artist Nike Savvas titled Finale: Bouquet (2019) on view until January 12, 2020. Spanning two large floors and suspended floor to ceiling are thousands of brightly coloured, fluttering confetti, precisely arranged and tethered. The colour palette was inspired by many sources, including botanical prints of native New Zealand flora.
Created with more than 200,000 pieces of coloured confetti, the magnitude of scale has made it a selfie favourite. Its popularity and “gramability” captures a moment of jubilation, with confetti caught mid-fall in per-
petual celebration. The result is a 3-4D painting. Savvas is a pointillist for the 21st century. As the artist says: “I’m hoping that people can see this work as a giant painting… the tabs as hundreds, thousands of different coloured brushstrokes.”
Two other intriguing new exhibitions at Te Papa include the visceral and stunning Tatau: Samoan Tattooing and Photography, featuring four artist-photographers Greg Semu (whose work is currently also on view in Te Rangi Haupapa at TAG), Angela Tiatia, Mark Adams and John Agcaoili.
The exhibitions include interviews of women and men discussing their personal experiences, the significance of the sacred markings they have had permanently inscribed into their skins, the powerful role of tradition, and their effect on the body and sense of identity.
Enduring enormous and prolonged pain, the “pe’a’” is the intricate male tattoo. Semu’s self portraits document his 25-year journey with photographs accentuating the graphic elements of symbols or monochromatic pattern in intimate detail, cropping to
reveal the perfectly articulated artworks.
Tamatea: Legacies of Encounter, considers a rare historical painting by William Hodges, the official artist aboard the European voyage through Fiordland in the Autumn of 1773. Tamatea (Dusky Sound as Cook called the area), is presented through personal notebooks with observations, taonga and historic prints, with two small McCahon paintings, and an epic photographic installation by Mark Adams (in the concurrent Tatau).
At City Gallery- a profusion of contemporary works includes a six-screen video installation by Christchurch artist Steve Carr, with drone-captured fireworks. News from the Sun features photography by Wellington’s Harry Culy and Shaun Waugh and Sydney’s Justine Varga. Unravelled features a broad range of media with artists exploring decomposition and disorganisation, referencing earlier art movements and showing how imported art ideas and artistic role models continue to shape artworks made in the antipodes.
Satirising selfies
Encounter 1 juxtaposes Michael Parekowhai’s The Night Watch (2018) and Kapa Haka (2015). The ceramic astronaut with his lilliputian security guard, are alongside Congolese-Belgian musician-filmmaker Baloji (the music video can also be viewed on YouTube). This is the first in a series of exhibitions juxtaposing artists exploring the theme of encounter. Both address the unreadability of the other.
Parekōwhai juxtaposes two figurative sculptures. A lifesize astronaut in a spacesuit bears a NASA emblem (advertising America’s colonisation of the moon) and a Tino Rangatiratanga one (protesting the colonisation of New Zealand). Titled The Night Watch (2018), the figure is inscrutable-a mir-
rored visor conceals his or her identity. What could NASA’s and Tino Rangatiratanga’s joint mission be?
The other sculpture is a maquette version of Parekōwhai’s M ori security guard for hire, Kapa Haka (2015), arms defiantly crossed. Their meeting is like something out of Gulliver’s Travels. What do we make of them, and they of one another?
Self-styled and directed, Baloji is a major social media influencer in Africa and the French-speaking world. In the gallery, Baloji’s visual feast and romantic lament Peau de Chagrin / Bleu de Nuit’ (Heartbreak/Night Bruise) (2018) creates a gorgeous, sci-fi, Afrofuturist love song. Both artists wryly self-reference as the exotic “other”- inscrutable, unreadable protagonists observing one-another.
Marketing trends to embrace in 2020
We’re finally here. It’s the future –and in 2020 we’re entering a new age that was once the exclusive territory of sci-fi novels and TV programmes with strange looking aliens and terrible special effects.
But how much has changed? From a marketing perspective, what should you be considering in your business to make sure you stay ahead of the curve in this brave new world?
Here are some of the key trends Bay of Plenty businesses may want to consider when they contemplate their marketing approach for the year ahead.
Personalised online shopping experiences are in
As more of our marketing becomes automated, you might think that would result in a more generic message and experience. But that’s not always the case.
The growing availability of customer data allows companies to target their advertising and promotions to speak directly to customers’ desires.
This trend is particularly noticeable in e-commerce, and many companies are now tailoring the featured products
they display to customers on their websites based on their purchase history or which products they have been looking up lately.
If you’re browsing a website and you’re a cat person, expect to see featured sales on cat food when you next do your online supermarket shopping.
If you’ve purchased a rugby ball from a sports retailer’s website, you might see rugby boots or All Blacks apparel pop up in the “suggested products” the store displays to you right up front when you next visit.
Online retailers that are personalising the products they display are seeing increased sales and higher conversion rates, and we’re likely to see much more of this in the year ahead.
We’ll see 3D or augmented reality on websites
While 3D technology and augmented reality aren’t new, they are becoming more mainstream in digital marketing and e-commerce.
A growing number of brands are using them to create a point of difference and bring their products to life by providing immersive experiences online.
Specsavers has a website that allows users to scan their faces using a webcam or phone camera so they can virtually “try on” any pair of glasses.
IKEA provides an app that can be used to virtually place IKEA furniture into any room in a house, enabling customers to visualise it in-situ.
This trend is set to continue in 2020, driven by new tools that make creation of 3D and augmented reality experiences less expensive, and also by the changing expectations of consumers who may soon come to expect them as the norm.
Illustrations are coming back
At a time when technology is driving most of the big marketing trends, it’s interesting to see a noticeable trend back towards the use of illustrations, rather than graphics and photos, in advertising, on websites and in marketing imagery.
Illustrations can give a business personality and help it stand out from the crowd, particularly in an environment where stock imagery and graphics have become so prevalent.
They can also hook into a sense of nostalgia by creating a mood that reflects simpler times – those halcyon days of our youth when Disney mov-
ies and cartoons were created using hand-drawn animation, rather than the modern CGI animations of today.
Nostalgia can be a powerful thing, and marketers are picking up on its potential to influence buying decisions.
Influencer marketing gets bigger
Everyone knows the power of influencer marketing. Getting well-known personalities to sing the praises of your product, service, or even a country (in the case of tourism), is smart business.
But there’s been a change in recent years as smaller businesses get on board and begin to utilise it in lower cost and more hyper local ways.
Rather than getting A-list celebrities on board, smaller businesses are beginning to see the value in getting multiple existing customers who are locally popular on board to
THE LAST WORD
> BY JAMES HEFFIELD
Baloji shot his music clip during his residency at Lusanga International Research Centre for Art and Economic Inequality, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It’s based on a Pygmy marriage ceremony, following a bride and groom leading up to their wedding.
As the artist explains, “Many shots depict an absent partner, which implies that one of them has gone back on their promises; changed their mind. The film illustrates this allegorically, showing the two protagonists alone in their wedding finery in front of the ceremonial installations.”
The implied disconnection between lovers maps onto the disconnection between the Congo (as subject) and the Western gaze. https://citygallery.org.nz/ exhibitions/encounter-1/
Director of Bay of Plenty marketing and PR consultancy Last Word. To find out more visit lastwordmedia.co.nz or email james@lastwordmedia.co.nz.
champion their brands.
In some cases, this can be as simple as offering a free t-shirt or other visible item with the request they share it on social media for their Facebook or Instagram friends to see.
In 2020, we can expect more businesses to get creative with how they involve local influencers in their marketing campaigns.
New data tools are also likely to emerge that make it even easier to identify which of your customers or contacts have the best social media following and would make ideal targets to champion your brand.
Voice navigation on websites
Google has long been talking about the rise in the percentage of searches being done using voice search.
Many people see voice search as a convenient tech-
nology while they are on the go – think asking directions from Google Maps while you’re driving.
Voice search can also improve accessibility for some disabled users, such as those who are blind or visually impaired, who might not find it quite so easy to read or type.
Not to mention the rise of smart speakers, like Alexa, that enable you to control everything from your music and TV, to the lights in your house.
Despite this, we haven’t yet seen many companies including voice search and navigation on their websites.
As more people begin using the technology, it’s only a matter of time before this too becomes mainstream.
Just make sure your threeyear-old son doesn’t yell out the wrong words in the background next time you’re using voice to add items to your online shopping cart.
Michael Parekowhai’s The Night Watch (2018) and Kapa Haka (2015) at City Gallery.
Photo/Alice Hutchison.
Nike Savvas, Finale: Bouquet (2019) at Te Papa.
Photo/Alice Hutchison.
Smarter Business Event
Cash flow and mortgage security
A new year is for new beginnings, and if this is your year to get started in business, good for you! The best advice for any start-up is: make sure your cash flow is managed well. One of the main reasons businesses fold is that they run out of cash. But if you are smart about how you spend your start-up capital and keep a close eye on your cash flow, disaster can be avoided.
Learning how to effectively manage your money can truly make or break a business, as cash is the lifeblood of any venture.
Controlling cash can be streamlined by bringing in technology to assist with anything from accounting reconciliation to supplier management.
Depending on the size and scope of your operations, you can start off with a simple spreadsheet or better still, invest in an appropriate software package.
For most businesses, experiencing unexpected highs and lows in sales is a reality, and both can have a serious impact on your cash flow.
If money becomes an issue, because you need to invest in new equipment, hire more staff or involve a third-party supplier,
Paula Lines, Commercial Lawyer at The Law Shop.
for example, you could consider taking out a business loan.
You can turn to your bank or see one of the many finance and lending companies for this, but do not rush things as it is hugely important to get it right.
If you’re thinking about purchasing assets or expanding your business, or your business needs an overdraft to cover shortages, one thing is certain - the lender will want security.
“If you own your own home, you may be able to borrow against it for the capital to buy or start up the business or an overdraft for help with cash flow.
If you can borrow against your house, you’ll be able to get home loan interest rates rather than business rates and you may get a longer-term,” explains Paula Lines, Business Law expert and Director of The Law Shop.
If you’re thinking about purchasing assets or expanding your business, or your business needs an overdraft to cover shortages, one thing is certainthe lender will want security.
“A mortgage over a house is a more attractive option for a bank, as it’s usually easier for the bank to sell a house if they need to rather than trying to sell business assets, which may not have a huge amount
of value outside that particular industry,” she says.
“Whether you can do this will depend on how much you already owe secured against the home.
“It also puts your home at
risk if your business fails, so you need to be absolutely sure that it is a good option for you.”
Over the years, The Law Shop has worked with all major banks as well as specific business lenders.
Whatever your reasons for business borrowings, Paula and her team can help you with obtaining the funds you need to keep your business thriving. Call 0800 LAW SHOP if you would like to discuss your situation with the team. They understand the securities that lenders require and can explain everything so you are fully aware of your options and obligations, and understand all that’s involved.
