Summer questions: Newmarket Business Association CEO Mark Knoff-Thomas

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark Knoff-Thomas at Dukes Nose in the Far North of New Zealand. Photo / Supplied

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark Knoff-Thomas talks about the rollercoaster year that was 2024, and what 2025 will bring for the New Zealand economy.

How would you describe 2024 for your business?

An absolute rollercoaster. We can’t understate how badly impacted consumer confidence was throughout the year. However, there are some good signs lining up that 2025, while not being a blockbuster, will certainly go some way to get us back on track.

What will be your biggest business challenges in 2025?

Cash flow will continue to be a challenge for many businesses. Winter this year was pretty brutal in terms of trade, so the coffers may be a bit lighter than usual leading into the new year. But there are some good indicators that we are on an improving trajectory.

What opportunities do you see in 2025?

We seem to have bottomed out and are on the way back up again. 2025 will see some growth and coming out of any downturn always provides new opportunities.

What will it take to kickstart New Zealand’s economy?

More positive news, continued OCR cuts. Consumer confidence needs ongoing shots in the arm. The Government needs to get some more wins on the board to instil further confidence, including stemming the outflow of New Zealanders leaving for Australia.

How will a Donald Trump presidency affect the geopolitical dynamics?

This is the great unknown. A more protectionist America will obviously impact New Zealand exporters, but as is being speculated, we may fly under the radar a little and may even benefit. America may inadvertently push traditional trade partners more towards China.

What are the concrete actions your company has taken to reduce climate change?

We are constantly looking at ways to reduce our impact – for example, we have reduced our magazine frequency from monthly to seasonal; we still promote online meetings where possible to avoid travel; any of our events always aim for zero waste.

In addition, we offer workshops to our members on sustainability, and we usually find a sustainability angle in any interviews we do, for our own consumer channels, with our Newmarket businesses, giving them a forum to talk about what they’re doing to help the planet.

How are you increasing diversity in your business?

We have many initiatives at play to promote diversity for Newmarket. For the Newmarket team and board specifically, we are roughly 50/50 male to female; cultural diversity has always been important for me to make sure we have a variety of different perspectives around the table, plus we have representatives from other diverse communities.

What is your New Year’s resolution?

Remember life is short – don’t put things off – live and enjoy. You’re a long time dead.

Where and how are you holidaying this summer?

I’m off to the UK for three weeks to spend time with extended family in Wales. It’ll be my first trip back to where I was born for well over 10 years. Hopefully, it’ll be a white Christmas. But I will be back in time to enjoy some Kiwi summer.

What would you recommend as a good podcast to listen to over summer?

Newmarket Vox of course! Available on Spotify, Apple, iHeart Radio and YouTube.

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business and retail.