Paper Plus wins Supreme Award as Franchise System of the Year

Paper Plus took top honours in the hotly contested 2011/2012 Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards with the 100 percent New Zealand-owned retailer winning the Supreme Award for Franchise System of the Year.

IMAGE (left-right): Paper Plus CEO Rob Smith, Mike Paardekooper of Paper Plus Cromwell and Group Franchise manager Ian Robertson with Westpac Franchise Awards trophies.

The group were the stars of the evening, taking out Media Campaign of the Year, Best Retail Franchise System and Best Retail Franchisee for their Cromwell store as well as the major award.

Receiving the trophy from Steve Jurkovich of Westpac, Paper Plus CEO Rod Smith said “This is sensational and follows five years of really hard work rebuilding our system. Paper Plus is now New Zealand's largest book retailer, having overtaken the competition, and number two in office products - and we're closing on number one quickly."

“In the current market, having true community involvement is vital. We've raised over $1 million for CureKids nationally and franchisees are also heavily involved in community activities locally. They will be very proud of winning the Supreme Award.”

The Franchise Awards recognise the highest performers in the New Zealand franchise world and provide them with valuable business and marketing advantages.

Paper Plus Group began its journey 28 years ago and incorporates three separate retail brands – Paper Plus, Take Note and Office Spot with over 156 separate stores throughout the country.

The awards come at a time when Paper Plus is poised to launch a marketing and business strategy which is set to shake up the books and stationery sector in New Zealand and reinforce their strong customer focus. Four years have been spent upgrading stores and today they have the most up to date retail formats in the country.