It’s been five years since the Massey University Business School and Australia’s Griffith University published their last survey of the franchise sector in New Zealand, but it’s been worth the wait.

The 2017 survey is the most comprehensive ever, with over 160 franchises providing detailed information on their size, turnover, fees and franchise relationships.

Here are some of the highlights:

• There are 37,000 franchise units throughout NZ – an increase of 14,600 since 2012.
• There are an estimated 631 business format franchisors in NZ in 2017, compared with 446 in 2012
• The overall turnover of the franchise sector is now estimated at $27.6 billion – equivalent to 11% of New Zealand’s GDP. Add in motor vehicle sales and fuel retail and it comes to $46.1 billion.
• Franchised businesses employ 124,200 New Zealanders.
• 72% of the franchises operating in NZ are home-grown brands.
• The percentage of franchisees involved in disputes has dropped from 4.0% in 2012 to just 1.9% in 2017.
• Almost half of all franchise disputes are now handled through mediation rather than litigation.
• The median length of time that a franchisee remains in a franchise system is 8 years.

Read the full Franchise NZ article here or view the full report to find out more.