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Primary Collaboration New Zealand Ltd (PCNZ) is essentially a Business Incubator for New Zealand businesses setting up in China.
The idea for PCNZ originated in a Te Hono Workshop at Stanford University in 2012, at which several of New Zealand’s leading primary producers plus NZ Trade & Enterprise wrestled with the question, “How can we successfully enter and establish our businesses in China efficiently, with lower risk?”
The answer was PCNZ; a locally registered China entity, owned by six original New Zealand shareholders.
There were some important assumptions under-pinning PCNZ’s successful establishment; that China is a complex market, that ‘local boots on the ground’ were essential, and that a coalition of the willing in one entity would enable important business knowledge being shared.
This knowledge included understanding China’s fast-evolving brand trends and consumer behaviours, sales channel developments, offline and online retail changes, and also all the back-office knowledge required to deal professionally with the complexities of China’s legal, financial, tax, and HR requirements.
In 2014, PCNZ (Shanghai) Ltd was registered in Shanghai, and Andy Borland was elected as PCNZ’s first Chairman, a role he still holds. The first personnel were appointed in early 2015, including former NZTE Trade Commissioner Kevin Parish, as General Manager, and two Finance and administration staff.
They then worked with each of the six shareholders to appoint local Market Managers, to begin the work of building their brands and sales.
The six original shareholders were Silver Fern Farms, Synlait Milk, Sealord, Villa Maria Wines, Kono, and Pacific Pace, which is itself a collaboration of the three fruit businesses, Freshmax, Bostock, and Mr Apple. Kono’s shares were subsequently sold to Rockit Apple, when Kono ‘graduated’ into its own standalone business, and two other original shareholders, Silver Fern Farms and Synlait Milk have also successfully graduated, and have grown into very successful entities in China.
Over the ensuing seven years since the first six shareholders joined, PCNZ has brought several ‘member’ companies onboard, also from the primary produce sectors. They include New Zealand King Salmon, Rockit Apple, K9 Natural Petfood, Spring Sheep Milk, NZ Avocado-Oil, Landcorp (“Pamu’) Douglas Pharmaceuticals, and Quantec.
Each company begins their tenure with PCNZ by recruiting a Market Manager, or a Country Manager, and over time, additional staff are recruited, mostly into sales, marketing or business development roles, as business grows.
These managers work on the development of China strategies, sales and marketing plans, brand promotions, distributor and retailer development, and monitoring and reporting about evolving consumer behaviour trends. A key responsibility is to provide valuable market intelligence back to their New Zealand businesses.
When reviewing the challenges of the last 2-3 years under COVID, it has become even more clear to members and observers about the value of PCNZ. New Zealand’s senior business managers have not been able to travel to China easily, so the value of competent local staff has been critical to sustaining these New Zealand businesses’ representation in China.
China is New Zealand’s Number one export market, and with its growing middle class, the long-term outlook for domestic consumption of high quality New Zealand produce is bright, if Kiwi businesses can negotiate the obstacles, and stay the course.
Click here to learn more about Primary Collaboration New Zealand.