Icebreaker announced its purchase of its distributor in Switzerland and France, Rockline Nature Zone, and the creation of two new subsidiaries, Icebreaker Switzerland and Icebreaker France.
“One in every three Icebreaker garments is now sold in Europe,” said Icebreaker Founder & CEO Jeremy Moon. “Our business continues to expand rapidly in Europe, which is now Icebreakers largest market.”
Craig Stoddart founded Rockline Nature Zone in Switzerland in 1999 after noticing that his outdoor athlete friends there were starting to wear Icebreaker. He was looking for a business opportunity with people and products he could identify with and approached Moon about selling product. He wrote a business plan, and his first deliveries were to seven stores.
Stoddart, who will now become General Manager of Icebreaker Switzerland and France, reports that Icebreaker is now sold in more than 200 stores in Switzerland and carried by 80 retailers in France. The outdoor market in Switzerland is growing fast, with the ski resort industry taking strongly to Icebreaker, which continues to see double-digit growth. Icebreakers sales in France are seeing triple-digit growth. The company is also experiencing strong sales in the travel and casual wear segments.
Icebreaker product is now sold in the Europe in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, the UK, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Russia, Poland and
Romania.
The company has also been increasing its business in North America and opened its first Touch_Lab retail stores in the United States (Portland, Oregon) and in Montreal, Canada in 2007.
