Fastway Couriers - Fastway Goes on Growing

When Bill Sampson was named the Westpac New Zealand Franchisee of the Year in November it capped another unbelievable year for one of the country’s most successful franchises. With an annual turnover of $458 million and more than 1600 franchisees across nine countries, Fastway is still growing, with the recession actually increasing demand for its low-price services. The result is new opportunities in many parts of the country for both regional franchisees and courier franchisees.

Fastway Couriers was founded in 1983 by Bill McGowan to offer a cost-effective delivery service between Napier and Hastings utilising a simple payment structure. The concept instantly appealed to local businesses and the network started to expand to other areas in 1984 when the first franchisees were appointed.

 ‘Franchising was an important factor in the rapid growth of Fastway,’ Bill says. ‘When people have their own money invested, they are more motivated to make a success of their opportunities. Everyone earns according to his or her own performance and the harder they work and the better they apply the franchise system, the more money they make.’

Graham Clarke is living proof of Bill’s philosophy. He and his wife Denise first joined Fastway as courier franchisees in 1993 and soon realised that the business offered a lot of potential to a couple prepared to work hard. In 1999, the couple made the step up to become regional franchisees for Wanganui and took on a bigger role.

‘The beauty of Fastway is that you know that the system that you are working with is tried and proven, therefore all it needs is you to follow it,’ says Graham. ‘It’s also thanks to the Fastway system that we have been able to achieve growth of 8% this past tough year when everyone else has been feeling the pinch.’ This latest achievement comes on top of an incredible run of double digit growth every year since 1999.

Today, Fastway Couriers is New Zealand’s largest privately-owned courier company. The business model is based on low mark-up and high turnover and, as the longevity of the system indicates, both regional and courier franchisees have the opportunity to develop long-term businesses with the potential for excellent bottom line profits.

What Do Regional Franchisees Do?

Regional franchises offer a total business management opportunity. ‘Regional franchisees operate a depot and administration facility within a city, town or region which provides business services to courier franchisees,’ explains Bruce Speers, Fastway New Zealand’s CEO. ‘They employ office staff to provide support to courier franchisees in the areas of administration, operations, sales, marketing, information technology and customer service, so you can see it’s a major role that requires real business experience.’

There are currently 19 regional franchises around New Zealand and opportunities become available occasionally. The investment level varies according to size and turnover but always includes a perpetual franchise agreement and an exclusive territory.

What Do Courier Franchisees Do?

‘Courier franchisees are the customer face of Fastway,’ Bruce says. ‘They carry out the actual courier work from their own vehicle, calling on regular clients within their exclusive territory and working to their own timetable. Of course, making deliveries is an ideal way to get into local firms and they can pick up a lot of new business that way, but each regional franchisee also has a sales team to generate additional growth as well as support to help them manage it.

‘Courier franchises are ideal opportunities for those who want the freedom and flexibility of running their own business,’ says Bruce. ‘Fastway is unusual in that it’s one of the few franchises that allows you to work normal business hours five days a week. You don’t require any specific business skills but should possess an outgoing and friendly attitude and a willingness to give a high level of customer service.’ 

‘We recognise that starting your own business can be a big step, especially if you haven’t been self-employed before, so we provide new franchisees with a guaranteed income for a number of months. Once you have grown your business to sufficient capacity, you are able to split your territory and sell a portion of it, thereby generating a capital gain. This also means that there are always some existing areas available that allow new franchisees to step into a business with established customers and income as a base for growth.’ Investment levels start from $25,000.

Full support and training provided…

Over the past 26 years, Fastway Couriers has won over 40 awards, both in New Zealand and overseas. This means that new regional and courier franchisees can look forward to the highest possible level of training and support in operations, sales, marketing and administration.

 ‘Every franchisee receives a two-day visit every month from a member of our franchise support team,’ says Bruce. ‘We have put a huge amount of experience into creating the best possible franchise opportunity and we want to help all of our franchisees get the best out of it. Our focus is on helping you succeed. To learn more about regional and courier franchises with Fastway, look at our website or give us a call.’

This advertorial is taken from Franchise New Zealand magazine Volume 18 Issue 4

Contact details for Fastway Couriers

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