Sheets ahead on success

A thriving franchise is on its way to New Zealand.

Two former Victoria University students are aiming to bring holySheet! to New Zealand by securing a holySheet! homewares master franchisee  before rolling out up to 10 franchise stores in the next three years.

Ed George and Danny Hochberg, who met 20 years ago while  studying marketing, established holySheet! in Australia in 1990 and were joined in the franchise in recent years by Nick Hillyard, a veteran of UK, American and Australian retail.

"New Zealand is a fertile market for us because there is no specialty retail chain providing accessible contemporary bedroom fashion,'' says George, director of holySheet!

"We know the extent of the demand for our range of products from the large number of Kiwis who purchase items from our 16 Australian stores."

"They've been pleading with us to open up in New Zealand and we've finally heeded those pleas."

"New Zealand has developed a very sophisticated urban market which is in tune with fashion and design. The population base is not sufficient, however, to support a home-grown chain like ours becauce the economies of scale aren't there to produce the range of product the market requires at accessible prices."

"In Australia, we have already built up the volume to produce a majority of our own designed products and it's those economies of scale that we'll be leveraging as we move into the New Zealand market,'' George says.

holySheet! enjoys a unique positioning as the leader in bedroom and bathroom homewares for the more fashion-conscious urban market segment in Australia.

Products include pillows, cotton sheets, quilt covers, towels, bathroom accessories, cushions, pyjamas ... even rubber duckies.

holySheet! stores are targeted to open in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton, look for a store near you, soon.