• Tony Sands
  • Brad and Freya Fretwell. Photo Credit: Chanelle Dickinson Photography

Love the people in Milford!

Your monthly update from Murray Hill, Manager of the Milford Business Association.

Local town centres like Milford have the uniqueness over the Westfield-type mall because they are filled with business people who are personalities in the centre. I often come across stories about these people and have another couple to tell you about this month.

 

Tony Sands - Sands & Associates (Chartered Accountants)

While Brad (next story) has a high profile with passing customers, another business in our professional arena also has an equally proficient owner. Tony Sands, a local chartered accountant, spent 12 years in the UK where he met his English wife Julie and they started a family. Loving New Zealand for all the reasons we all do, Tony convinced his wife Julie and his four girls that life in New Zealand would be much more rewarding.
On return, there was no place to set up his business other than his old backyard, Milford. At the time, accountant Charles Carlton, practicing in Milford, was looking at retiring. Charles had been operating in Milford for nearly 20 years after taking over from another accountant Angus MacIvor, who had previously been operating in Milford since the 1950s. So Tony saw the opportunity to not only bring his family home, but set up a business and live close to one of his favourite parts of New Zealand, Milford.
But Tony is one of these people who gets involved in his community and this saw him quickly involved in Surf Life Saving at the Mairangi Bay club and then being talked into the role of being the chairman of the then newly formed Milford Business Association by yours truly.
I’m not sure where he gets his energy from, but you will find him involved in some sort of activity almost every weekend - whether it be a Surf Life Saving event anywhere in New Zealand, or helping out at an event organised by the business association. Tony is always there and leading from the front.
As our chairman, he has steered the association and businesses out of the doldrums, to be one of the most successful Business Improvement Districts in Auckland. He has a leadership style that inspires people to be involved and make decisions – not procrastinate. I am sure this is one of the reasons his accounting practice is so successful. Great record keeping by his dedicated staff and honest advice to his clients.
So if you see Tony walking down the street in Milford, say hi and thanks, because he is one of those hard-working individuals who does so much for our community, but stays out of the limelight. As Manager of the Milford Business Association, I couldn’t have a better chairman to work under!

 

Brad Fretwell - Bakers Delight

Well, the story goes something like this. Brad and school weren’t the best of mates and as soon as he could, he left school, deciding to get into the building industry. From all accounts, he had about as much appetite for building as he did for school and ended up back at home at a loose end.
Mum decided she didn’t want him around home under her feet paying no board, so unbeknown to Brad, arranged an interview for a job with Bakers Delight. Not only did he get the job but he took on a baking apprenticeship that led to him eventually buying the Milford franchise.
It was while working at the Milford Bakers Delight, that he met his future wife, Freya. She started working at the franchise part-time while still at school at Westlake Girls High School. In the late 2000s the Milford business was not being managed very well as the owner had lost interest. Brad had impressed the franchisor so much that they offered him the franchise.
Brad says at the time he was more interested in his girlfriend Freya and cars, but decided to take the plunge. And the rest, as they say, is history.
At age 21, Brad had already been frugal and saved half the purchase price. Mum, who was no doubt pleased that she had made the original interview all those years before, again came to the party, as mums do, to guarantee his loan.
At the time, Brad became the youngest Bakers Delight franchisee. He thought at the time it was the scariest thing that had happened to him, but when he processed it, he thought, ‘I can do this’.
And this typical Kiwi ‘can do’ attitude has meant not only has he turned the underperforming business around, but Milford has become a training franchise for new owners. And the fairytale doesn’t end there. Brad and Freya are now married and recently added to their baking team with the birth of their son, Jaxon.
The thing that impresses me as a customer, is the level of customer service is always high, no matter who is serving. A tribute to the training and culture that Brad and Freya have within their business.


See you in Milford!
Murray
Manager – Milford Business Association
manager@milfordshops.co.nz  |  021 950 463
www.milfordshops.co.nz  |  FB: milfordshops Inst: milfordnz


By: , Murray Hill, Manager
home@black-rock.co.nz

Issue 90 August 2018