Best Apparel Brands Companies in New Zealand
The 52 best Apparel Brands companies in New Zealand in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Rodd & Gunn.
New Zealand's Apparel Brands sector, ranked here by disclosed equity funding and recent funding momentum, is smaller than the headlines suggest — but the signals underneath are worth your attention. Fifty-two companies tracked, total disclosed funding at $119,377, and Rodd & Gunn accounts for every dollar of that. No unicorns yet. And yet coverage is rising fast, driven by celebrity ventures, celebrity stylists, and the social-media pull that makes someone stop scrolling and actually buy something.
The global apparel market was valued at roughly $31.8B in 2020, growing at a 4.1% CAGR according to ResearchAndMarkets.com, and the digital side is accelerating too — median app install growth sits at +17% year-on-year across 266 apparel and fashion brands. I'd call that a behavioural shift, not a blip. Brands like Albie Nursing Attire and As Colour sit at zero disclosed funding right now, which means the field's wide open for investors like Direct Capital and GBL Investments to move. Tariff pressure is already squeezing supplier margins globally, so local brands that own their supply chain early will carry a real structural edge into the next funding cycle. So who moves first?
- Grand View Research
Ranked: Best Apparel Brands companies in New Zealand
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rodd & Gunn Designer and retailer of men's premium apparel and accessories | $119K | 128 mo ago | Late Stage | Jim Jarvis Founder | 1987 | Cart FunctionalitySalesforce Commerce CloudApple iCloud Mail+40 | 1 partnership · 1 expansion |
| 2 | Albie Nursing Attire Designer and retailer of breastfeeding-friendly apparel for mothers and children | — | — | Unfunded | Laura Kannan Owner | 2018 | Cart FunctionalityShopifyReact+26 | — |
| 3 | Amazon Surf Retailer of surf clothing intended to serve the youth. | — | — | Acquired | — | 1990 | Cart FunctionalityShopifyZoho+38 | — |
| 4 | Amber Whitecliffe Designer and retailer of ethically made women's clothing | — | — | Unfunded | Amber Pinto Owner | 2012 | — | — |
| 5 | as colour AS Colour designs and manufactures and sells men, women, and kids apparel. | — | — | Private | — | 2005 | Shogun Page BuilderBigCommerceNoibu+34 | 4 job openings |
| 6 | Bare Brown & T Internet first brand offering clothing for men | — | — | Unfunded | Sreejith Sreekumar Founder & CEO | 2022 | — | — |
| 7 | Barkers Menswear brand | — | — | Unfunded | Chris Greive Chairman & CEO | 1972 | Cart FunctionalityMagentoMySQL+31 | — |
| 8 | Beats Clothing Online retailer of slow fashion clothing crafted from sustainable materials | — | — | Unfunded | Monica Wilson Co-Founder | 2011 | — | — |
Top 1 Apparel Brands companies in New Zealand
#1
Late Stage · Auckland, Auckland · founded 1987 · 254 employees$119.4Kraised▾
Designer and retailer of men's premium apparel and accessories. It designs and sells a range of clothing items including shirts, polos, jackets, coats, jumpers, sweatshirts, pants, jeans, shorts, underwear, and linen clothing. The company also offers accessories such as luggage, hats, belts, wallets, and footwear. A key focus is on high-quality materials and timeless designs. The company operates retail stores and an online store.
Funding & investor landscape
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Apparel Brands coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.