Gerry Schumacher, Landmark Homes Taupō and Hawke’s Bay, Shares His Winning Formula

Winning the coveted Supreme Franchisee of the Year Award and the Home and Lifestyle category at the Westpac 2024 Franchise New Zealand Awards topped off a year of expansion and growth for Icehouse alumni Gerry Schumacher and his team. Kate de Lautour chatted to Gerry about the current state of the industry and what makes his team so successful.

Ask anyone in the construction industry how 2024 was and many would say they’d rather forget it – not so for Gerry Schumacher who launched a new office in Hawke’s Bay and invested in both himself and his leadership team to complete Icehouse executive-level programmes.

“This recession isn’t as bad as the GFC. Yes, it’s a downturn but it will be interesting to see how quickly things take off again because the cheapest time to build is now. We’re seeing a fall in some of the timber prices and there’s no issues with supply of materials. Concrete and aluminum costs have gone up - that isn’t just because of increases from suppliers but also because of the increased building compliance costs. The new rules around insulation and the healthy homes improvements are new costs but we see those as positives in the long-term.”

Gerry sees some opportunities for the current Government to improve the building process and remove unnecessary costs.

“There are changes that could be made, particularly around local councils having more control over resource consents. Many of the issues come from outdated town planning rules and these need to be fast tracked.”

With a background in finance, Gerry’s career with Landmark Homes started as business development manager in the franchise support office during the GFC. He had the unenviable job of closing down three franchises, however the role gave him the chance to see what worked and what didn’t for the franchise businesses and gave him a solid insight into the industry. The opportunity arose to buy the Taupō franchise with local builder Steven Painter in 2014 and so began a formidable partnership, bringing an ideal combination of complementary skills.

“The fact that there’s been two of us has also been such a strength. During my time in the Icehouse I’ve met so many amazing business owners working on their own and it seems like it can be pretty lonely.”

Now the pair have joined forces with their Taupō construction manager Tony Lafferty to push into Hawke’s Bay and with a number of mid to high end subdivisions coming on the market, the timing is right.

“Hawke’s Bay is going to be a beast and it will be much easier with three of us driving the business.”

Gerry notes the Landmark Homes designs fit with the Hawke’s Bay lifestyle.

“The Iona and Mission Hills subdivisions are right up our alley. Only a tenth of our builds are based on the standard designs, otherwise they are specifically designed for the individual section and incorporating the spectacular Hawke’s Bay views and the ideas of each different owner.”

Being in a franchise model is ideal for Gerry. He’s a people person and appreciates the power of the supportive network of other owners in the franchise. “It’s been invaluable for making sure we’re doing things in the right way.”

While the networks in the franchise are valuable, Steven and Tony hadn’t experienced formal management training, and both were keen to get stuck into the Icehouse when the opportunity came up. Gerry decided to jump in as well, joining the Owner Manager Programme.

“As a team, I wanted to make the most of the investment and make sure I understood the Icehouse direction, to ensure we are all moving forward in the same way. The connections with other businesses has broadened our perspectives and it’s certainly confirmed we are doing pretty well, starting with creating the right culture. For me creating a great culture in your business is the key to a successful operation.”

Gerry adds that continuous improvement, training and development in business are not “nice to have’s” - they are “must have’s”.

“To me, good leadership in a business means taking the time to develop the right systems, structure, frameworks and feedback so your team feel confident to make informed decisions and do their job well.”

So, what’s the plans for summer?

“We have a house in Taupō so we’ll be doing a great walk and a great ride. There’ll be lots of time on the lake and quite a few rounds of golf.”

Great stuff Gerry, well-deserved!

Learn more about the Owner Manager Programme and how it's helped owners like Gerry Schumacher right across New Zealand.