Top Gear

What Top Gear does

Top-Gear Knives is a privately held, family-owned online specialty retailer headquartered in Te Puke, New Zealand, operating exclusively through the e-commerce platform www.top-gear.co.nz. Founded in approximately 2004, the company self-identifies as New Zealand's oldest online knife retailer and has operated for over 20 years with a headcount of 1-10 employees. The technology stack is a CMS-tool-based storefront with Stripe credit-card processing, Afterpay buy-now-pay-later integration, and 256-bit site encryption; no native mobile app is offered.

The core offering is a curated catalogue of 1,000+ knife and cutting-tool SKUs spanning folding knives, fixed blade knives, multitools, fishing knives, axes and machetes, karambits, knife sharpeners, and knife storage. Inventory is sourced factory-direct or via authorized distributors from world-class brands including Browning, Victorinox, Opinel, Gerber, SOG, Ka-Bar, Civivi, Helle, Schrade, Leatherman, CAT, Lansky, and others. Unit prices range from under NZ$50 for entry-level folders to NZ$400+ for premium multitools. Top Gear differentiates on authenticity (no counterfeits), product breadth, and same-day shipping for orders placed before noon on business days, with courier delivery throughout New Zealand and international shipping available subject to customs restrictions.

The business model is direct-to-consumer transactional retail: one-time product sales through the e-commerce storefront, with no subscription, licensing, or recurring revenue component. Customer segments include outdoor enthusiasts (hunters, fishers, campers, EDC users) as the primary persona and professional users (butchers, chefs) as a secondary segment. Distribution is purely online; there is no brick-and-mortar presence or click-and-collect. Marketing relies on the storefront itself supplemented by periodic email promotions. Revenue bands are not disclosed, but the 1-10 employee footprint and bootstrapped family-ownership structure indicate a small specialty retailer rather than a scaled operation.

Name

Top Gear

Legal name

Top-Gear Knives

Website

https://top-gear.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Top-Gear Knives is a family-owned online retailer and self-described New Zealand's oldest e-commerce knife store, selling 1,000+ folding and fixed-blade knives, multitools, sharpeners, and outdoor cutting tools from world-class brands to outdoor enthusiasts and professional users.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Knife Retail

NAICS

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware (3420)

akta.pro primary industry

Hunting & Shooting Specialty Knife/Tool Retail (CRAMAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sporting Goods & Outdoor Inventory-led Online Retailers (CRAFADAJ)

Keywords

• Online knife retail
• Folding knives
• Fixed blade knives
• Outdoor cutting tools
• Multitool sales

Headquarters

HQ city

North Shore

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: One-time product sales through e-commerce platform. Customers purchase knives, multitools, sharpeners, and accessories at listed prices. Payments processed via Stripe (credit card), direct credit, and Afterpay installment payments. The store offers over 1000 products across multiple categories including folding knives, fixed blade knives, axes, machetes, fishing knives, multitools, karambits, and knife storage solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Top Gear is New Zealand's oldest online knife retailer, offering over 1,000 products spanning folding knives, fixed blade knives, axes, machetes, knife sharpeners, fishing knives, multitools, karambits, and knife storage from world-class brands such as Browning, Victorinox, Gerber, SOG, Ka-Bar, Opinel, Civivi, Helle, Schrade, and Leatherman. The business operates as a web-based direct-to-consumer storefront with same-day shipping and factory-direct sourcing to ensure genuine, non-counterfeit products.

Product overview

Top Gear is New Zealand's oldest online knife retailer with over 20 years in business, offering a diverse range of quality knife products. The product portfolio centers around folding knives and fixed blade knives as core offerings, complemented by specialized categories including fishing knives, multitools, karambits, axes & machetes, and knife sharpeners. The company stocks world-class brands such as Browning, Victorinox, Ka-Bar, Opinel, Gerber, Civivi, Helle, Schrade, Leatherman, SOG, and many others. Additionally, Top Gear offers knife storage solutions and accessories including sheaths and knife rolls. Payment options include credit card via Stripe, direct credit, and Afterpay buy-now-pay-later service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Folding Knives A diverse range of folding knives from multiple world-class brands including Browning, Elk Ridge, CAT, Civivi, Gerber, Honey Badger, Ka-Bar, Remington, Opinel, Outdoor Edge, Smiths, SOG, Swiss Army, Tac Force, and Walther, for everyday carry, outdoor recreation, and tactical use.
• Fixed Blade Knives Fixed blade knives for hunting and outdoor use from brands such as Browning, Elk Ridge, Gerber, Helle, Ka-Bar, Mora, Muela, Schrade, Smiths, SOG, and Victorinox, targeted at hunters and outdoor professionals.
• Axes & Machetes Outdoor cutting tools including axes and machetes for bushcraft, land clearing, and outdoor applications.
• Knife Sharpeners Quality knife sharpening products including whetstones, diamond sharpeners, sharpening systems, and accessories from Edge Master, Lansky, Sharpal, and Cold Steel, for knife maintenance and edge care.
• Fishing Knives Specialized filleting and fishing knives from brands like Elk Ridge, Gerber, Outdoor Edge, Mora, Kershaw, Victory, and Victorinox, for anglers and fishing enthusiasts.
• Multitools Multi-purpose tools from CAT, Gerber, Leatherman, SOG, and Victorinox featuring various functions including pliers, knives, screwdrivers, and saws, for everyday carry, outdoor use, and tactical applications.
• Karambits Curved blade tactical knives including models from Benchmark, Elite Edge, Tac Force, Rite Edge, Z Hunter, and Red Schrub, targeted at tactical and self-defense users.
• Knife Storage Knife storage solutions including leather knife rolls, nylon knife rolls, sheaths, and pouches from Victory and Taurus brands, for organization and transport of knife collections.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Knife Center: US online knife specialist focused on consumer and collector sales of folding/fixed knives and sharpeners; same online-direct model and overlapping brand portfolio as Top Gear.
• Knivesandtools: Long-established online knife and multitool specialist based in the Netherlands with a comparable direct-to-consumer catalogue covering folding, fixed, multitools and sharpeners from many of the same premium brands — highly analogous business model to Top Gear's online-only specialist approach.
• Blade HQ: Largest US-based online knife retailer offering an enormous SKU range across major brands (Benchmade, Spyderco, KAI, etc.) — directly comparable e-commerce model and category breadth to Top Gear, albeit at vastly larger scale.
• Knifewear: Canadian specialty knife retailer (and Japanese kitchen knife specialist) emphasising curated selection, education content and expert staff — comparable 'expert-driven specialty knife retailer' positioning to Top Gear despite product mix differences.
• KnivesPlus: Family-run US online knife and sharpening retailer with a long operating history — analogous owner-operator D2C model and overlapping brand set to Top Gear.
• True North Knives: US online retailer specialising in outdoor, hunting, tactical and survival knives — directly comparable inventory and customer-targeting to Top Gear's outdoor enthusiast segment.

Emerging players

• Lansky Sharpeners: US-controlled-angle sharpening systems brand sold through its own DTC site and retailers; Top Gear already stocks Lansky systems, so it overlaps in category (sharpening) while competing for the same edge-of-the-shelf real estate.

Broad incumbents

• Victorinox (direct): Swiss knife manufacturer that runs its own global DTC stores alongside authorised retailers including Top Gear; competes asymmetrically by owning brand, IP and inventory rather than reseller economics.
• Hunting & Fishing New Zealand: New Zealand's largest outdoor/sporting goods retailer with multi-store presence and broad hunting/fishing assortment that includes knives — competes for the same NZ outdoor enthusiast spend but as part of a much wider category mix.

Regional players

• Hunting & Fishing Australia: Australian outdoor and sporting goods chain with knife category — not a domestic competitor to Top Gear but the natural cross-Tasman peer addressing the same outdoor enthusiast customer profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/topgearnz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Top Gear