MĀORI BUSINESSMāori Businesses taking their Brands Global

Presented by Naomi Aporo, May 2015

OVERVIEW

1. A bit about me

2. Māori business landscape

3. Taking brands global

4. Success factors and challenges

5. Wakatū Incorporation

A BIT ABOUT MENaomi AporoNgāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne

Education• Bachelor of Commerce (2007), Otago

• Master of Business (2008), Otago

Work History• Ernst & Young: Consultant – Risk Advisory

• Te Wānanga o Aotearoa: National Risk Manager

• Ernst & Young: Manager – Performance Improvement

• Fonterra: Global Programme Manager

Skills and Capabilities• Programme management

• Organisational design and transformation

• Strategic planning

• Change management

• Business process design and optimisation

• Risk management

• Business continuity managementOther Appointments • Otago University School of Business Advisory Board

• National Māori Governance Qualifications Advisory Board

• Wairarapa Moana Trust Board

MᾹORI BUSINESS LANDSCAPE

• Largest Māori organisations

• Whakapapa based

• Intergenerational

• Range in size from $1m to $800m organisations

• Usually have both a social and commercial focus

• Often established as a result of treaty settlement

• Commercial enterprises largely primary sector based (horticulture, aquaculture, farming and forestry)

• Usually service based

• Kaupapa Māori centric in delivery

• Largely government funded

• High proportion of Māori employees delivering services (by Māori for Māori)

• Close relationship with local iwi

• SMEs

• Mum/Dad businesses

Māori and iwi incorporations Public sector organisations Private enterprises

TAKING BRANDS GLOBAL

Must haves NZ Realities

• Exchange rate volatility: fluctuations in the NZD have significant implications on product margin and revenue.

• Scale: reality of NZ business size competing in global markets

• Distance to markets: cost and time to export

• Market access: international trade barriers and local “custom” challenges

• Moving up the value chain: primary sector produce not a niche product – so need to shift from commodity to value add products

• Product: what are you selling?

• Market: who is going to buy it? What do you know about them? Where are they and what are the different realities across different demographics and geographies?

• Value proposition: what’s different about your product? Why would people choose it over other alternatives?

• Distribution networks: how do people access your product?

UNIQUE SUCCESS FACTORS

Success Factors for Māori organisations

• Starts with our story – who we are and where we come from

• Inter-generational

• Relationship centric

• Values based decision making and practices

• Strong focus on sustainability and stewardship (consumer preferences)

WAKATŪ INCORPORATION

• A family business of the land and sea• The purpose of Wakatū is to nuture the inheritence, use it for sustenance,

ensuring its handed down to the next generation in better condition.

4000 owners who are descendants of four tribes:• Ngāti Koata• Ngāti Rārua• Ngāti Tama• Te Ātiawa

3 core business units:• Owners: marae development, shareholder support, education, youth

development and capability development for succession planning.• Property: property development, lease property, property for sale.• Kono: food, horticulture and beverages

WAKATŪ CONSUMER BRANDS AND PRODUCTS

Horticulture• Products

• Orchards

• Sustainability

• Quality Assurance

Foods• Products

• Marine Farms

• Processing

• Sustainability

• Quality Assurance

Beverages• Products

• Vineyards

• Winemaking

• Sustainability

• Quality Assurance

EXAMPLES OF WAKATŪ PRODUCTS

SUCCESS FACTORS AND WAKATŪ

• Starts with our story- who we are and where we come from, incorporation into Wakatū brands

• Relationship centric – relationship development with other indigenous populations, similarities with asian cultures

• Values based decision making and practices – Te Pae Tawhiti

• Strong focus on sustainability and stewardship (consumer preferences): examples from vineyards: bird flight paths, waterways, land practices harvesting practices etc

Wakatū brands

A kono is a basket woven out of harakeke (New Zealand flax) and was traditionally used by Māori to serve food in. In Kono branding, weaving represents the inter-relationships of the many different Kono stakeholders. This weave features in the Kono logo with a harakeke (flax) leaf connecting the ‘K’ to the ‘N’. It is representative of how knowledge is passed intergenerationally through families.

In Māori culture, the koru or spiral symbolises growth, life and the natural world. The koru featured in our new branding comes from the painting He Mihi Aroha ki a Koe by renowned Māori artist Sandy Adsett. It represents the growth of our company and the journey of our people from the past to today. This koru signifies our long-term intergenerational goals and has become our tohu, our signature.

Kōwhaiwhai is the ancient Māori tradition of painted pattern-making.  These symmetrical designs decorate the rafters of the elaborately adorned where tupuna (house of ancestor) and represent lineage, ancestry and the story of generations. In the spirit of this tradition, Aronui celebrates the kōwhaiwhai pattern. Within our logo, the pattern is silhouetted within the rolling hills of the Moutere Valley, with the sun rising above. 

The silhouette represents the mountain Tapuae-o-Uenuku, the spectacular backdrop to our Awatere Valley vineyard. One of the highest mountain peaks in New Zealand, Tapuae-o-Uenuku dominates the inland eastern skyline, standing at 2885 metres above sea level. In stormy weather the mountain is often framed by a double rainbow. 

WAKATŪ BRANDS

QUESTIONS?