This first made its appearance in the new Building Act of 2004 but did not become fully operational until 1 March 2012. Until that time, anyone could get a dog, a ute, and a set of tools, and call himself a builder. That did lead to some sloppy quality standards, just as you would expect if anyone could get a scalpel, a set of scrubs and an operating theatre, and call himself a surgeon.

None of those definitions, not even the last one, accurately describes what a franchise is in New Zealand commercial law terms. A franchise is simply a right to sell goods or services as part of a family of traders who all use the same brand and do things the same way. The best way to describe it is to compare it with other forms of business relationship such as agencies, distributorships, and licences.

You buy from your supplier and you sell to your customer. But frequently you want more than that. You may want the security of knowing you have exclusive rights to a range of products, or to a particular territory. You may want support from your supplier in the form of marketing, advertising and promotion, or even advice on how to run your business better. You may want to be part of a large family of outlets that presents a uniform image and has the buying leverage of a large organisation. And you may want to have the right to use your supplier’s trade marks in your promotional materials, or even their designs and know-how to locally manufacture your supplier’s products with their consent. That is where agencies, distributorships, franchises and licenses come in. They give you these rights.