KEY POINTS:
Businesses wanting to "make it" across the Tasman will soon have a blueprint for success.
Profiling of local businesses Charlie's, Global Career Link, KEA Campers, MoleMap and Revera shows they took a common path to establishing flourishing Australian operations.
Undeterred by the failure of some of the country's largest organisations - including Air New Zealand, Telecom and The Warehouse -to secure a long-term foothold in the Lucky Country, these small- to medium-sized enterprises tell how they accomplished internationalisation in a report by Deloitte for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to be published in two weeks' time.
"There's a perception that Australia is too hard and, therefore, don't bother - but there is still a good pool of companies expanding this way," says Tim Green of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
Beverage supplier Charlie's is on track to hit a $30 million sales target within two years - equivalent to the sales of the whole company today.
Australia certainly offers alluring growth opportunities - a much larger market than New Zealand with more than 20 million people and a beverages market worth about A$1 billion ($1.19b) a year.
However, Charlie's did not make the mistake of underestimating the differences between the markets in the two countries.
The business environment in Australia is characterised by an additional layer of regulatory complexity and more competition, Green says, which often necessitates implementing a different business model and strategy.
The success stories from companies such as Michael Hill, Pumpkin Patch, Fulton Hogan and Datacom show the value of tailoring their products to Australia rather than transplanting them from New Zealand.
Alasdair MacLeod, a partner at Deloitte, advises viewing Australia as a collection of separate markets, not a single country.
Businesses looking to expand there should be prepared to make a substantial cash investment and tap into new networks.
Of New Zealand companies that successfully establish an Australian business, "the figure most commonly quoted is that it cost them NZ$1 million", Macleod says.
Having a chief executive on the ground boosts business capability far beyond that achieved by commuting between countries. "If you do the right things, you can succeed, and there are lots of proud Kiwis who've done exactly that."
