Taking out the supreme franchisee of the year award, along with the franchisee of the year in retail & hospitality, was The Coffee Club Ōmokoroa.
Making a strong connection with the local community has been the secret to success for one franchise operator who came out on top at this year’s Westpac New Zealand’s 2025 Franchise Awards.
Taking out the supreme franchisee of the year award, as well as franchisee of the year in retail & hospitality, was The Coffee Club Ōmokoroa.
Since opening in 2023 under owners Kelly and Jess Bain, the Ōmokoroa cafe has become a hub where community contribution is a core part of operations. The business also won store of the year at The Coffee Club NZ’s own awards in 2024.
Kelly Bain told the Herald that winning the awards blew her away.
“Working in franchises or working in hospitality is so hard. I don’t want to take away from what everyone else is doing, but we just work tirelessly every single day trying to drive our business, and we’re so focused on making connections within our community,” Bain said.
Ōmokoroa has a population of less than 5000 people, and Bain said news of the win had travelled through the community quickly.
Bain said she had already joked about having to install another shelf to fit the awards.
Supreme Westpac franchise system of the year was awarded to Takapuna-headquartered Harrisons Flooring, which also won the franchise system of the year home & lifestyle category.
Harrisons Flooring operates a mobile retail model, bringing flooring solutions directly into customers’ homes so they can see and select products in their own environment, rather than in a traditional showroom.
Founded in 1962 by Des Harrison, the Harrison family maintains ownership of the group, which has diversified into solar and curtains/blinds in addition to flooring.
Harrisons chief executive Patrick Harrison said that the win reflected the team behind the business.
“Winning Franchise System of the Year is an incredible honour, but what makes me proudest is that it reflects our people - local business owners, hardworking teams, and loyal customers who trust us in their homes every day,” Harrison said.
“For over 60 years we’ve been a family business, and today we’re still driven by the same belief - if we look after our people and do right by our customers, success will follow.”
Harrisons general manager Leanne Sowry said that not operating like a corporate machine is what sets them apart.
“We’re a family business that backs people to succeed - with training, technology, and support that actually makes a difference. Seeing our franchisees walk across the stage on awards night was a reminder of why we do it - when they win, we all win,” Sowry said.
Franchise Association of New Zealand chief executive Katrina King said she was thrilled to see members from some of the smaller cities around New Zealand making such an impact.
“It has been a challenging year for the economy across the board, but our finalists and winners are demonstrating that time-honoured principles of focusing on the principles of good business delivers dividends, every time,” King said.
“We’ve seen that franchised businesses are more resilient against economic shocks thanks to proven support systems. And we’ve seen, through three decades of success, that the franchise model works just as well for those with a great idea and an extensible business, as it does for franchisees from Invercargill, through Tauranga and all the way up north to Cape Reinga.”
The awards recognised excellence in the country’s highly active franchise environment, which features almost 550 franchise systems with over 29,000 operating units.
Other winners on the night included Bailee Mills from Harrisons Curtains and Blinds, who won the title of field manager of the year.
Franchise Accountants took out service provider of the year, while Aramex Mt Wellington and Panmure’s Quin Wang won the small business franchisee of the year.
CrestClean Hawke’s Bay’s Tim O’Leary took out the regional master franchisee of the year, and Karen and Paul Collins of Kitchen Studio North Shore took out the home and lifestyle franchisee of the year.
As for Business to Business, CrestClean took out the franchise system of the year, with CrestClean Christchurch and South Canterbury’s Navjot Kaur taking out the franchisee of the year.
The awards were held on Saturday night.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.