Icebreaker Appoints Barry Schrimsher USA Sales Vice President

ICEBREAKER APPOINTS BARRY SCHRIMSHER USA SALES VICE PRESIDENT

– Outdoor Industry, Columbia Sportswear and Mountain Hardwear Veteran Joins the Outdoor Merino Pioneer –


Portland, OR, USA (19 January 2009) – Icebreaker, the New Zealand company that pioneered the outdoor merino wool apparel category, has hired Barry Schrimsher as vice president of USA sales effective immediately.

“We are very pleased to welcome Barry to the Icebreaker flock,” said Russ Hopcus, president of Icebreaker US operations. “He built a very successful sales agency in the Pacific Northwest representing companies such as Mountain Hardwear, Osprey and Lowa. Most recently, as founder of The Sherpa Group, Barry worked with several outdoor companies in the areas of brand management, channel distribution and product. His experience and passion will serve Icebreaker well as we continue to expand our footprint in the outdoor specialty channel.”

A native of Portland and a graduate of the University of Oregon, Schrimsher is a 24-year outdoor industry entrepreneur. He established the first in-house sales organization for Columbia Sportswear, Inc., and led the opening of its new office and showroom in Kent, WA for all Columbia brands (Columbia, Sorel, Mountain Hardwear, Montrail and Pacific Trail).

“Icebreaker is one of the true leaders in the outdoor industry, and I’m looking forward to helping grow this great brand and company,” said Schrimsher. “More people each day are discovering the joy of natural and sustainable Icebreaker merino for hiking, skiing, running and cycling.”

Schrimsher served in the positions of US sales and national accounts manager for Crocs Footwear, Inc. from 2005-2007, where he created and implemented national and key account sales strategies which netted strong double digit growth.


About Icebreaker
Launched in 1994, Icebreaker was the first company in the world to develop a merino wool layering system for the outdoors. It was also the first outdoor apparel company in the world to source merino directly from growers, a system it began in 1997. There are now 10 distinct pure merino fabrics in the Icebreaker system, covering underwear, mid layer, and outerwear.

Icebreaker is sold in more than 2000 stores in 24 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Icebreaker uses only pure merino hand-picked from 120 high country stations in the country’s Southern Alps to create edgy outdoor clothing that combines nature’s work with human technology and design. The company is committed to sustainability, ethical manufacturing and animal welfare. In 2008 the company launched “Icebreaker Baacode,” pioneering supply chain transparency. Each Icebreaker includes a unique Baacode, which enables customers to trace the garment online from rearing the sheep through to each stage of the supply chain process.