Metricon Custom Uniform Range Case Study | NewGen
Case Study

From off-the-rack uniforms to a range designed around the Metricon brand.

How NewGen helped Metricon move beyond a short-lived catalogue uniform program and create a more distinctive, better-managed range for customer-facing teams in display homes.

Customer-facing staff wearing the new uniform range in a modern display home
The new range shown in the kind of display-home setting it was designed to support.
The issueThe old range looked generic and relied on shared stock.
The shiftA brand refresh made it the right time to rethink staff presentation.
The outcomeA more distinctive range with better stock control and long-term ease.
Why this mattered

Staff presentation was part of the customer experience.

The customer had refreshed its market position and wanted a more colourful, distinctive image. But the existing uniforms did not match that direction.

For a display-home environment, that mattered. Customers were not just looking at finishes and floorplans. They were taking in the whole brand experience, including the people representing it.

Brand refresh

The business had moved forward, but the old uniforms had not.

Display homes

The range needed to suit a polished, customer-facing setting.

Exclusivity

The customer wanted something that felt like their own range.

Stock control

They wanted continuity and less frustration when reordering.

The new range

Showing why the new range worked so much better.

The final range introduced stronger colour, coordinated print and a more distinctive mix of garments across the team. It still looked professional, but it no longer felt generic.

Staff wearing the new range in a display-home setting
A stronger hero image that shows the range in a more natural, customer-facing context.
Staff in the new range reviewing materials in a display home
The range works in real presentation moments as well — polished, approachable and on brand.
Different staff members wearing coordinated garments from the new range
Different garments still feel coordinated, helping the whole team look considered rather than pieced together.
Before NewGen

Basic, catalogue-driven and easy to forget.

The old range did its job, but it looked like standard stock with branding added. It did not create a memorable brand impression, and it did not give the customer control over supply.

Why the first solution did not last

The customer had recently introduced a range through a large national supplier using standard stock garments with the logo applied.

  • It did not reflect the customer’s refreshed brand direction.
  • It looked like off-the-rack uniform stock rather than a considered range.
  • Key sizes were often unavailable because other businesses were drawing from the same stock pool.
  • The customer wanted more exclusivity, more continuity and a better customer-facing image.
Men's original off-the-rack uniform range
Old men’s range
Standard stock trousers and shirts.
Women's original off-the-rack uniform range
Old women’s range
Conventional catalogue shirts and polos.
NewGen’s approach

Design first. Produce sensibly.

The customer came to NewGen with a clear market position in mind, but not a finished garment plan. NewGen worked through the practical and creative questions first, then built the range from there.

1
Understand the wearerWho would wear the range, when they would wear it and what the garments needed to do.
2
Shape the directionExplore themes, colours and the kind of image the customer wanted to project.
3
Sketch and refineDevelop options across shirts, knitwear, dresses, pants, jackets and tailored pieces.
4
Choose sensible customCustom-design the garments that mattered most and source lower-volume items where that made more sense.
5
Sample and trialProduce samples, run wearer trials and refine the range before production.
6
Set it up to lastCreate a range the customer could manage more confidently over time.
Sensible custom

Custom where it mattered, sourced where it made sense.

A full custom uniform range does not mean every garment has to be made from scratch.

NewGen worked with the customer to decide which garments should be custom-designed and which lower-volume pieces could be sourced through NewGen’s Hong Kong office.

This kept the range commercially sensible while still delivering a more cohesive, distinctive and controlled result.

Why the difference was clear

Better for the brand and better for the customer.

The new range better reflected the customer’s refreshed image and suited the environment their teams were working in.

At the same time, the customer moved away from the limitations of shared catalogue stock and into a program that gave them more confidence in future supply.

“

The result was not a catalogue selection. It was a managed uniform program designed around the customer’s brand, environment and long-term needs.

The outcome

More distinctive, more controlled and easier to manage.

Stronger brand presentation

The range helped staff look more aligned with the customer’s refreshed market position.

Better stock control

The customer moved away from shared stock items that could be depleted by other businesses.

Less friction later

Once the range was established, future ordering and production became much easier to manage.

Planning a uniform refresh?

We can help you work out what should be custom, what should be sourced, and how to build a range your team can actually manage.

NewGen helps turn broad brand direction into practical, commercially sensible uniform programs that work in the real world.

Talk to NewGen