Z's 'made in NZ' brand is double-edged sword

A mock-up of a new Z Energy station, built in a warehouse in East Tamaki. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Z Energy promotes itself as a New Zealand company that keeps profits at home, but as rivals point out, it's not fully in local ownership.

It is half-owned by Wellington utilities investment company Infratil, which has about 15 per cent of its shares and bonds owned overseas, according to Z.

Last year, Infratil also listed in Australia to gain greater exposure to investors across the Tasman.

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund owns the other half of Z.

Z's chief executive, Mike Bennetts says the New Zealand message was being pushed aggressively.

"We have to be careful about beating the Kiwi drum. It's coming across quite strongly because we want to make sure that everyone is clear who we are owned by," he said.

"We're proud to be a Kiwi company and I would argue that almost all of our profits are retained in New Zealand. Infratil does not pay a large dividend and has invested far more in the company than it has taken out."

About $90 million was being put in this year - more than four times as much as Shell spent in its last year.

"That says the owners ... are recognising that if we can give what the customers want, that will help them win in the long term."

But the strong Kiwi connection can be double-edged.

Bennetts said he felt obliged to tell the owners when a Nelson man faced prosecution for taking pies from a bin behind a Shell shop.

And through Facebook, Z got feedback on another of Infratil's investments - Wellington Airport - over the Wellywood sign.

"I acknowledged that and took that back to Infratil and said 'the airport's got to do what the airport's got to do but I want you to know what Z customers think of that'," Bennetts said.

"The research tells us they've got higher expectations of us as a local company and we want to live up to that."