New Zealand pool shop wins Australasian franchisee award

New Zealand pool shop Swimart Pakuranga won the company’s 2011 Franchisee of the Year, beating more fancied operations from across the Tasman.

Swimart’s annual awards were handed out recently at the Pullman Reef Casino Hotel, Cairns, with the prestigious Franchisee of the Year award going to a New Zealand pool shop for the first time.

The award was presented by Swimart Ambassador and Olympic gold medal swimmer Susie O’Neill at the annual Swimart conference in Cairns at the end of July. Other awards were presented for Citizen of the Year, Retailer of the Year, Marketer of the Year, Best Sales Growth Franchise, Most Improved Franchise, Best Presented Business, Regional Store of the Year and Franchisee of the Year.

The awards were the culmination of a week of activities, workshops, and a conference as well as the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Waterco, Swimart’s parent company.

Swimart’s national manager, Chris Fitzmaurice says that it is an outstanding achievement by the New Zealand franchisees Jamie Spooner and Ricky-Ann Gold.

“The Swimart Pakuranga team has performed exceptionally over the past 12 months, and their exemplary standard of service, professionalism and customer care were key factors in winning so many awards,” he says.

Spooner says that he enjoys solving customers’ problems and helping them however he can. “We enjoy building the business and feel proud that we have grown it into one of the largest pool shops in New Zealand,” he says.

Fitzmaurice says it’s been a tough year for many in business, due to the unseasonal heavy rainfall and flooding that affected so many states in the peak operating period.  “We commend our franchisees for pulling out all stops to make the most of a challenging time and operating to very high standards, despite various obstacles,” he says.