One franchise’s refusal to close was a blessing in disguise for Signature Homes’ now-owner Gavin Hunt.
Signature Homes is one of New Zealand’s business success stories: a home-building company that’s been in operation for 43 years, built thousands of homes and planted franchises all over the country.
But it wasn’t always plain sailing, as owner Gavin Hunt can attest to.
He was there at the very beginning in 1983, working for Fletcher Challenge when it launched the Signature Homes brand as a competitor to Lockwood in the solid wood home market.
Hunt was charged with setting up more than a dozen Signature Homes franchises in those first few years – only for his employer to suddenly u-turn and opt for a different ownership structure.
“We had a network of 18 franchises – and having built it up I then had to go and unwind it all. It was tough,” he told Common Grounds, an NZME podcast series in partnership with Nespresso Professional that takes listeners inside some of Aotearoa’s most loved small- and medium-sized businesses.
A contract clause had allowed Fletcher’s to end its franchise arrangements within the first two years of operation, and so it did – with one exception.
“One [franchisee] had refused to have that clause in his agreement,” said Hunt.
While Hunt wasn’t aware of it at the time, that would go on to be a blessing in disguise.
Years later, he would go on to manage and buy half of that remaining franchise in Auckland – providing the platform that enabled him to buy the entire Signature Homes brand.
“Fletcher’s were struggling because [Signature Homes was] a manufactured product, but it’s also a housing product – so they didn’t know where it fit into the overall organisation,” he said.
“We approached Fletcher’s and said, ‘Look, this is not working all that well, so we’d like to buy it off you’ – and they agreed.”
Under Hunt’s ownership, Signature Homes ceased construction of solid wood homes, a style Kiwis had fallen out of love with, opting to construct standard timber frame houses instead.
“And the rest is history, really, after that. We managed to build up a great network of builders and away we went… We were very clear on what we wanted to do.
“From then on it was just a process of building up a network and standard designs and marketing, and all the rest of the things that come with growing a business.”
Signature Homes has grown hugely since Hunt took it on – constructing everything from homes to resorts and education facilities, both in New Zealand and overseas.
For Hunt, it’s delivering for clients that has been the most satisfying part.
“I remember handing over my first home and realising then what a big thing it is for people, how important it is in their lives, and that’s really driven me quite a lot,” he said.
“It feels like you’re doing a useful thing for people, so I enjoy that side of it.”
Now well into his 70s, Hunt has stepped back from the daily running of the business – but it’s still very much in the family. His daughter, Portia Lawrence, is among the C-Suite, coming onboard five years ago as its national business development manager; while her daughter Emily also works for the company.
Like her father, Lawrence is passionate about delivering for the families that end up in their homes.
“Our brand mission is getting to the heart of our clients’ homes, which really speaks to it [being] an emotional purchase. There’s no getting away from that, so we have to respond in kind,” she told Common Grounds.
“Not only is it emotional, but it’s expensive – for a lot of people, it’s going to be the biggest purchase they ever make in their life, so we’ve got to honour that.
“It’s something we really work with our teams on around the country: making sure we have that emotional response as well as the practical [one] of building the home and getting the job done.”
Family is at the heart of Signature Homes, and this extends well beyond Hunt and the generations beneath him.
The company is deliberate about creating a tight-knit, collaborative culture and a supportive working environment, even with its 15 franchises being spread right across New Zealand.
One easy way to create connections has been to install Nespresso Professional coffee machines in its offices, alongside the ones in its showhomes. Lawrence loves seeing the way the machine brings staff together.
“Walking into the office in the morning, following that smell down the hallway and seeing everyone gathered around, waiting for their coffee, exchanging news of the day, what they’re up to for the week, whatever it might be… it’s kind of taken the place of the water cooler, I think.”
She says there can sometimes be pressure to generate ideas in a formal meeting, but the Nespresso Professional coffee machine creates an environment that can “strip the barriers back”.
“[There is] a little bit more free thinking maybe, [you’re] a little bit more free to say what you really think – without the formality.”
That approach is paying off, with the business regularly evolving as new ideas come to the table. Another Signature Homes franchise is opening soon in Hawke’s Bay, and a “game-changer” new internal brand promise, Addicted to Better Together, has been launched.
Lawrence says from the moment it was introduced at a national conference, “everyone just grabbed onto that and used it as a war cry” for continual improvement, especially when it comes to keeping clients at the core of their business.
“First and foremost at the moment is providing the best client experience in the industry – that’s something we talk about all the time,” she said. “We also want to have the very best product and people in the industry – and to have the very best people you’ve got to look after them.
“I’m a strong believer in telling the culture of a company by dealing with the individuals that work for that company. If they’re feeling good about life and working at the organisation, then that’ll pass down to clients as well.”
Elsewhere in this episode of Common Grounds, Hunt and Lawrence discuss how Signature Homes uses healthy competition to keep standards high, having the best uniforms in the country, and its plans for the future.
Want to create the perfect coffee corner in your workplace? Find out more about Nespresso Professional’s tailored coffee solutions here: www.nespresso.com/pro
Listen to the full episode here: