The Brand Makers

What The Brand Makers does

The Brand Makers is a New Zealand-based custom apparel, uniforms, and promotional merchandise supplier headquartered in Hamilton, founded in 2007 and operating with an 11–50 employee headcount. The company designs, produces, warehouses, and delivers custom-branded products — including polo shirts, school jerseys, team uniforms, hi-vis safety wear, drink bottles, bags, and corporate gifts — for institutional and SMB customers across four primary verticals: schools and educational institutions, sports clubs, corporate and business customers, and events/community organizations.

Its commercial model combines a self-serve digital layer with a consultative sales motion. The digital layer includes a Build Your Kit online design tool and a segmented online store platform (dgstore.co.nz) organized by customer type (corporate, school uniforms, sports clubs, events), while the consultative layer is delivered through field account managers and a 7-day sample sizing set program that supports group sizing decisions before bulk orders. Pricing is quote-based rather than publicly listed, and revenue is generated primarily through one-time custom production orders and ongoing uniform program replenishment.

The customer base is concentrated in the Waikato region with national NZ reach, and includes named institutional relationships such as Fraser High School (sole supplier), St Peters College, Waikato Tainui, Te Tamawai Trust, Melville Rugby Football Club, and Aiga Tasi — the latter representing a culturally specific Pacific uniform design partnership initiated in 2018. Operating geographies are confined to New Zealand, with no disclosed revenue, funding events, or M&A activity. The company has expanded its product surface over time into safety apparel and corporate gifts, suggesting a measured, category-by-category growth posture rather than rapid scaling.

Name

The Brand Makers

Legal name

The Brand Makers

Website

https://directgroup.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Brand Makers is a Hamilton, New Zealand-based custom apparel and merchandise supplier (founded 2007) serving schools, sports clubs, corporates, and community organizations across New Zealand. It designs, produces, and delivers branded uniforms, team gear, safety wear, and promotional products through online stores (dgstore.co.nz), a kit builder tool, and a consultative field sales team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel & Uniforms

NAICS

Apparel Manufacturing (315), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (339920), Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (31599)

SIC

Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300), Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130), Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Workwear, Uniforms & Corporate Apparel Wholesale (CRAOADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sportswear Customization & Printing Retail (CRAMACAK), Branded Merchandise & Promotional Apparel Wholesale (CRAOADAI), Team Sports & On-Field Performance Apparel (CRAAAEAE)

Keywords

• Custom apparel manufacturing
• Uniform supply services
• Branded merchandise
• Corporate uniforms
• School uniforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Apparel Sales: One-time purchase model for custom branded apparel including polos, jerseys, t-shirts, hoodies, and safety wear. Customers submit designs/branding requirements and receive custom-manufactured products.
2. Uniform Programs: School and corporate uniform programs with ongoing supply relationships, potentially including replenishment orders for replacement items.
3. Merchandise & Promo Products: Branded merchandise including drink bottles, bags, and corporate gifts sold as custom-branded items.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Brand Makers manufactures and supplies custom apparel, uniforms, branded merchandise, and promotional products for organizational buyers such as schools, sports clubs, corporate clients, and events. The company delivers an end-to-end program that includes in-house design, branding, an online kit builder, sample sizing sets (7-day program), warehousing, and dedicated online store fronts for client reorders.

Product overview

The Brand Makers is a custom apparel, uniforms, and merchandise company offering a portfolio of products and services for organizations, schools, sports clubs, and businesses in New Zealand. Their core offerings include custom apparel (polo shirts, jerseys), promotional merchandise (drink bottles, bags), team sports gear, safety workwear, and corporate gifts. They provide design services, warehousing, and a 7-day sample sizing program. Customers can use the online Kit Builder tool to design custom team gear. They also operate branded online stores through dgstore.co.nz for corporate, school, sports club, and event clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 uniform codes designed, made and delivered in 35 days

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 4imprint: Leading North American/HQ promotional products distributor with a New Zealand presence, selling custom-branded apparel, drinkware, bags, and merchandise to organisations. Closest comparable business model (B2B custom-branded merchandise) at a much larger scale.
• Embroidery Solutions NZ: New Zealand-based custom embroidery and branded apparel provider serving schools, sports clubs, and corporates. Closest sub-scale local comparable for the screen printing/embroidery and custom uniform service offering.
• Trend Pac: New Zealand apparel manufacturer and supplier with corporate, school, and team uniform capability. Comparable as a domestic producer competing for the same school, club, and corporate uniform contracts.
• Quality Logo Products: US-based online distributor of promotional products with a large custom apparel and merchandise catalogue. Direct comparable in product mix (drink bottles, bags, custom apparel) and B2B online ordering model.
• Alsco New Zealand: New Zealand arm of global uniform and workwear rental/services company Alsco. Most direct local comparable for corporate uniform and workwear supply, though Alsco's core model is rental rather than custom decoration.

Broad incumbents

• Cintas: NASDAQ-listed North American uniform, workwear, and facility services giant. Competes with Brand Makers in the corporate workwear/uniform segment globally, though focused on rental and large-enterprise supply rather than custom team/school gear.
• National Pen: Global promotional products supplier offering custom-branded merchandise including apparel, drinkware, and bags. Comparable in product categories and B2B customer profile, though with a heavier skew toward writing instruments.
• Cimpress / Vistaprint: Global custom printing and merchandise platform (parent of Vistaprint and several regional brands). Competes for SMB custom apparel and promo merchandise demand, with significantly greater scale and online tooling.
• UniFirst: NYSE-listed uniform and workwear supplier with North American focus. Adjacent competitor in the workwear/uniform space, providing benchmark for what scaled uniform supply looks like operationally.
• HALO Branded Solutions: Large US-headquartered distributor of branded merchandise and corporate apparel. Operates a similar B2B model supplying custom decorated products to organisations, with broader product breadth and a global supply chain.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/brandmakersnz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/direct-group-uniforms
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebrandmakersnz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 The Brand Makers