Taking NZ Businesses To The World

Stuff

Franchise broker Mark Chan is backing overseas expansion for Kiwi firms - including putting Nature Discoveries into the world’s largest planned mall.

Nature Discoveries, founded and owned by Christchurch’s Doug Pflaum, has nine franchised outlets in New Zealand, and will likely have to reach 40 shops before joining the Dubai mall, the world’s biggest.

Chan and Nature Discoveries chief executive John Garlick are confident of the franchise’s growth plans which included 25 New Zealand stores in the medium term.

Nature Discoveries’ shops stock “creative learning” items from puzzles to telescopes and metal detectors.

Garlick said the franchise was getting “pretty close to a deal with the Middle East”.

Chan, based in Christchurch for the last 18 years, has thrown his efforts behind working with franchises, leaving behind top sales in terms of New Zealand commercial real estate broking.

He now spends two to three months of each year overseas visiting the Middle East, Europe and Asia including his original home of Singapore to sell country master franchises _ worth in the vicinity of $US500,000.