Icebreaker has hired Mark Koppes as vice president of product, which makes him responsible for developing and directing Icebreaker’s global product design strategy. His emphasis is on design evolution to make Icebreaker even more distinctive and desirable while retaining functional excellence.
“Mark is an outstanding leader with deep apparel experience,” said Jeremy Moon, founder and CEO of the New Zealand company that pioneered use of merino wool as a performance fabric in outdoor markets. “He also has fantastic experience in the outdoor industry and multi-brand online experience. Mark is a real Icebreaker and the perfect person to take Icebreaker’s product to the next level.”
Koppes, shown at right, comes to Icebreaker with more than 28 years experience in retail, online and wholesale channels in the sports and outdoor industry. Most recently, Koppes was vice president merchandising and planning, at Backcountry.com where he worked with more than 1,000 brands. Prior to that, Koppes was with Columbia Sportwear where as vice president, apparel he was responsible for product process and managing the brand. Koppes was with Nike for 15 years previously where in his final position as general manager apparel – he led the design, merchandising and development in both men's and women's performance apparel.
“I'm joining Icebreaker because I think it's an amazing brand with tremendous potential,” Koppes said. “I love the product creation process and having the opportunity to be a part of that process at Icebreaker is extremely exciting. A premium brand making premium product from a renewable resource in my mind it couldn't get any better than that!”
Icebreaker merino clothing for the outdoors, technical sports and lifestyle includes underwear, mid layer garments, outerwear, socks and accessories for men, women and children. Icebreaker is based in Wellington, New Zealand, and is sold in more than 3000 stores in 44 countries. See icebreaker.com for more information about Icebreaker, and jeremymoon.me for more information on Icebreaker founder and CEO Jeremy Moon.
