Australia Week: Trans-Tasman commerce has always been a big deal. So we take a look at some of the New Zealand companies that have successfully expanded across the ditch and cemented their place in the hearts, and malls, of Australia.

To mark the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble, The Spinoff is casting an eye across the ditch all week – read our Australia Week content here.

You don’t have to travel far in New Zealand to find Australia. Of course, with the bubble now open you can fly there. But really, if you want something Australian, all you have to do is pop into your local boutique Westfield Mall. Chances are the majority of the shops in there came from Australia, or are controlled by Australian parent companies. From Event Cinemas to Rebel Sports, T2 to Jay Jays, Countdown and Cotton On and Coffee Club and four out of five of our major banks – our hallowed shopping mall staples first came from across the Tasman. Why, even Westfield itself is Australian-owned!

It should be a reassuring testament to the intimacy of our bilateral commerce. Yet, the idea that so much of our leisure and consumption habits insidiously fall under the green and gold yoke of Australia is somewhat disturbing. And it begs the question – are Australian malls filled with New Zealand retailers to the same extent? Due to the economic imbalance between the two countries, most certainly not. But there are a few cases of upstart New Zealand businesses and brands expanding across the Tasman and successfully finagling their way, permanently, into Australia’s lucrative market. Here are a few of them.

Glassons 

One of our most popular home-grown shopping mall icons, Glassons started in the 1990s as the female-focused arm of the much older Hallensteins Brothers company. A few years later the company expanded to Australia, but in 2003 it found locals weren’t too keen on the male clothing offerings and began closing the Hallensteins stores. Glassons, however, had found the right formula, and has been doing a roaring trade ever since, with 32 stores across the country.

Kathmandu

Another classic mall fixture, Kathmandu was founded in New Zealand in 1987, but opened its first store in Melbourne’s iconic Hardware Lane the same year. By 1992 it had opened stores in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. After re-entering the New Zealand market, it became listed on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges in November 2009. 

Acquiring Rip Curl in 2019, it’s now a behemoth of outdoor products, with 165 stores – the majority in Australia – and 4,000 employees across both countries.      

Chipmunks

You’d have to be a myopic country indeed if you couldn’t appreciate the awesomeness that is Chipmunks: the indoor play centre company that was founded in Dunedin in 1996 and is headquartered in Port Chalmers. Fortunately, Australia embraced the concept and now has 22 branches across the land, while New Zealand has 17 franchises, and even Indonesia has a few.

I’m in my 30s now, and I don’t have children, so I don’t go to Chipmunks that often. But I suspect the experience and business model is still the same as I remember it: your parents drop you off for the day, you consume a bunch of sugar and go absolutely ballistic for a few hours in a padded, consequence-free world, and invariably vomit in the ball pool.

Wet and Forget 

Other than on commercials on either side of Mike’s Minute, you don’t hear that much about the success story that is Wet and Forget. But born from one New Zealand bloke’s DIY project to rid the earth of mould, those bottles of viscous blue chemicals are as Kiwi as they come. There are now 20 stores in New Zealand, but since expanding in 2003 the chemicals are sold widely across Australia – and the US, and the UK, and soon, potentially, in Europe!

Pals

Other than wine and craft beer, New Zealand’s alcoholic beverages aren’t likely to be embraced with any zeal across the Tasman; Cody’s and Lion Red are acquired tastes after all. But Pals – the high-flying darling of the low-sugar RTD/seltzer movement – has cracked the code to the Aussie market. Earlier this year it announced Australian food and hospitality company Endeavour group will be launching Pals into local outlets BWS and Dan Murphy’s, allowing thirsty and overheated Australians to chug back “the best tasting ones”.

The Warehouse

Of course, not every New Zealand business has made it in Australia. Thriving in a much larger and more competitive market requires more than just solid performance at home, and small New Zealand fish can easily get gobbled up when they go swimming in the big pool.

The Warehouse was no small fish, but it got eaten all the same. Expanding to Australia in 2000, it acquired Clint’s Crazy Bargains and Silly Solly’s retail chains, which had 117 stores between them. It opened its distribution centre in Melbourne, but by 2005, due to consistent underperformance, the red sheds were sold to Australian investment companies for $99m, which sounds to me like “a bargain”.

My Food Bag

New Zealand’s meal delivery kit company exploded onto the scene in 2012, and quickly expanded to Australia two years later before making a profit back home. It was a risky move, but due to the lack of competitors in Australia at the time, it was seen as a shrewd move.

“The Australian market is quite infant, and our offering is really slick so I think we can do really well over there,” said cofounder and CEO Cecilia Robinson.

The concept ostensibly did do well, with almost 30,000 customers in 14 cities across the two countries by 2015. However, in late 2016, the Waterman Capital investment prompted a restructure, and My Food Bag made the decision to quit Australia to focus on New Zealand, where it remains a popular household name, eventually re-engaging Australia via an ASX listing in 2021.

Covid-19 has created both challenges and opportunities for small businesses – that’s why online business advice platform Manaaki has partnered with Kiwibank to offer mentorship and grants for SMEs.

If there’s one element that has linked every small business across New Zealand (and much of the world) over the past year, it’s the palpable sense of uncertainty during Covid-19 lockdowns. Before March 2020, never had a change been so sudden, severe and universal as to totally derail business plans, wither finances and cast the future of so many businesses into doubt. 

However, by the same measure, if there was a single element that provided a near-universal sense of comfort to those businesses, it was the community support that naturally and immediately rallied to help see them through those bizarre times.

Business advisory forum Manaaki epitomised this response. Launched on March 25, days after the level four lockdown started, the idea for Manaaki was simple: muster the knowledge and expertise of New Zealand’s business community and make it available through an online platform to anyone who needed help. Any small business owner and entrepreneur could register and ask questions on the Manaaki forum, such as “how do I move my business online?” and receive an immediate response from some of the 200 seasoned experts and leaders.

Since it launched, Manaaki – which means to uplift someone else’s mana – has assisted 300,000 New Zealanders, helping them meet the challenges and opportunities of owning a business through the unique demands of Covid-19. The goal was to help them feel supported and connected through the pandemic and always have someone to rely on for advice – often someone with vast experience and knowledge.

“What people really valued about our service, apart from the immediacy of the response and the quality of the advice, was that all of a sudden, inspiring business leaders – people you may have read about – became accessible,” says Manaaki co-founder Pat MacFie.

“It’s about trying to provide a guiding light or playbook and show people the pattern that you can use to succeed. I’ve found a big part of my life’s purpose through this mahi. It’s weird to say, but I actually wouldn’t change it for the world because of the difference we’ve been able to make.”

Although the worst of the pandemic appears over for New Zealand, the settling dust is revealing a new landscape of economic opportunities and challenges. To help businesses meet them, Manaaki has partnered with Kiwibank to launch Manaaki U, an initiative that will provide mentorship and $10,000 grants to four small businesses throughout the year, facilitating them to make an impact within their communities.

Applications for Manaaki U will be held in four different stages throughout the year. The first runs from April 8 to 25 and the first business will be selected by a panel on April 30. Manaaki U received over 400 applications for the initiative in one night.

“I think that speaks to the calibre and opportunity of what’s being offered. The cash is good, but I think what people are really looking for is that support to help them achieve those goals. We’re going to be really in depth in the way we engage with these businesses,” says MacFie.

The incredible wealth of knowledge and experience Manaaki has brought together is a testament to the camaraderie of New Zealand’s business community. The Manaaki mentors know what it’s like to face huge challenges and they’re eager to use their time and passion to help small businesses succeed and thrive. The mentors want to understand the business and the challenges it faces at a micro level and truly understand the aspiration of the individual, the family and the community they want to support, says MacFie.

“That’s why we’re called Manaaki – our business leaders are willing to go over and above to really uplift those small businesses, whether that means taking on very large pro bono projects, opening up their personal network, or allowing businesses to use their own private resources to help them to get forward.”

Although much of the discussion around New Zealand business since Covid-19 has been dominated by notions of digital technology, Manaaki U will equally favour traditional businesses along with tech-heavy startups. 

“We’re equally up for helping the landscaping company in Whangarei to run their business more effectively,” says Macfie.

“People get into business for a reason that’s very personal to them. So we hope to help them actualise whatever their vision and their version of success is, and give them access to the best people in this country to help them achieve that – and a little cash along the way with the support of Kiwibank, which is awesome.”

The Maanaki U grants are designed to help the recipients foster social and economic impact, not just for one business but for whole communities. It’s about investing in the businesses that sit at the heart of local economies, says Kiwibank’s head of small business, Joanna Greaves.

“Kiwibank’s founding vision was about offering an alternative to Australian-owned banks, and to nurture the growth of New Zealand businesses. When small businesses succeed there’s this flow-on success to our communities and our economy prospers.”

The partnership with Manaaki is about helping these dynamic organisations realise their potential, at the same time as retaining their flexibility and energy that makes them special. 

“Small businesses have the complexity of needing to wear multiple hats across marketing, finance, logistics, production, delivery and digitalisation. So to have that connection across Manaaki’s network is pretty incredible. It’s really exciting for us to be able to partner with that expertise.”

The grants aren’t just to help the cutting-edge business developments, but also to allow small business owners to overcome crucial obstacles – ones that they might not have foreseen 12 months ago. 

“It might be that there’s businesses that have got really ambitious goals, but equally, it might be that they’ve got some hurdles that they’re needing support with,” Greaves says.

“Hopefully, we’ve come through the really tough period so it’s a neat time to be able to provide that support and help these businesses leapfrog into the future.”

There are four opportunities to apply for Manaaki U this year; 8-25 April, 3-18 June, 4-18 August, and 6-20 October. To enter, small business owners are asked to record a quick video explaining who they are, their dreams and challenges and submit via this form.

June will see the launch of Manaaki’s next phase: a hub where small business owners can get their problems solved and actioned end-to-end. Business owners can bring issues that need solving quickly and experts and advisors will answer their questions for free.

Business owners can go one step further by booking book a call with the same expert for more in-depth work and will also be able to list projects, and have contractors bid for these jobs.

This content was created in paid partnership with Kiwibank. Learn more about our partnerships here.