The Franchise Manager Blog

Australian franchise-sector reporting shows casual hiring volumes have fallen to a 13-month low, adding another dimension to the staffing challenge facing hospitality, retail and service franchises.

At the same time, franchise businesses are being reminded that promotional detail matters: McDonald’s Australia recently amended a delivery campaign after concerns that the advertised 99c delivery fee wasn’t the only extra cost associated with delivery orders.

Franchisees need two things simultaneously — enough capable people to deliver the customer experience and marketing that sets completely accurate expectations. Getting either wrong damages trust.

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Anytime Fitness sets a huge Australian target

Anytime Fitness Australia⁠ is marking 18 years in Australia, having grown from one regional club into a network of around 630 clubs. Its next target is ambitious: 800 clubs and one million members by 2030.

The interesting number isn’t merely 800 locations. Mature franchise systems have to find additional growth without cannibalising existing franchisees. Territory planning, unit economics and franchisee profitability become increasingly important as networks approach saturation.

Anytime Fitness Australia marks 18 year milestone and sets target of 800 clubs and one million members by 2030 Anytime Fitness is marking a milestone of 18 years in Australia having grown from one regional club to a 630 national network supporting more than 780,000 members with the milestone underscoring the brand’s long term strategy of accessible fitness, strong franchisee performance and continued inves...

A fresh New Zealand business-market assessment says cost pressures that dominated the first half of 2026 are beginning to ease and confidence is recovering on both sides of the Tasman, although conditions still vary considerably between sectors.

Businesses that kept their systems disciplined and pricing realistic during the tougher period may now be better positioned than their owners realise.

A recovering market rewards businesses that prepared during the downturn. This can be the time to revisit pricing, sales capacity, marketing and growth plans before competitors regain confidence too.

Cautious optimism: what business owners should know about the market right now | LINK Business Brokers New Zealand Ask ten business owners how the market's tracking and you'll get ten different answers, and this year, all of them are probably right.

Sales & marketing — don’t just measure leads; measure lost leads

Most sales teams know how many enquiries they receive. Far fewer know why the ones that didn’t buy disappeared.

For the next month, give every lost opportunity one simple category: price, timing, competitor, no decision, couldn’t contact, wrong fit, or unknown.

At month’s end, look at the biggest bucket.

If “couldn’t contact” dominates, you have a follow-up problem. If “price” dominates, you may have a value-positioning problem. If “no decision” dominates, you may not be creating enough urgency.

Today’s thought:
Experience becomes valuable to a customer when they can clearly see what your experience will do for them!

A reminder of why franchisors and franchisees both need clear financial reporting, early-warning indicators and disciplined intervention when a unit begins deteriorating.

A $2.6m warning from Adelaide

A failed South Australian bakery-franchise operation is embroiled in a dispute after former franchisees were accused of leaving a business owing about $2.6 million before a related bakery business reopened at the location. The allegations are disputed and the matter remains contested.

Tonight I am presenting my speech “From Lawn-mowing to Building Better Business”
Howick Toastmasters

🤝 Franchising — Just Cuts brings in an experienced franchise operator

Australian franchise Just Cuts has appointed Andrew Kidd as its new CEO. Kidd previously led Poolwerx’s US operation and took up the Just Cuts role on 10 August. He will work alongside founder Denis McFadden as the 235-store network enters its next growth phase.

This is a good franchise leadership case study. Bringing someone who has already operated inside another international franchise system can introduce fresh ideas without requiring them to learn the franchise model from scratch.

Just Cuts taps former Poolwerx chief Andrew Kidd as CEO Just Cuts has appointed Andrew Kidd, former CEO and COO of Poolwerx US, as its new CEO.

A useful Australasian franchise lesson:
International expansion works best when the brand supplies the system and intellectual property while an experienced local partner supplies market knowledge, infrastructure and ex*****on.

Call us for local market knowledge on +64 9 307 7860

Stewart Germann has been waving the New Zealand Franchising flag for decades now. This is truly a well deserved honour

Our warmest congratulations to Stewart Germann who has been named an Officer in the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year 2026 honours list, for his services to franchise law.

This is the first time that a member of New Zealand’s franchise community has been specifically recognised for their services to the sector. Full story at https://franchise.co.nz/articles/4050-first-onzm-for-services-to-franchise-law