Icebreaker Opens Online Doors in Canada with New E-Commerce Website

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CONTACT
Lee Weinstein
(503) 708-0402
lee.weinstein@icebreaker.com


Icebreaker Opens Online Doors in Canada with New E-Commerce Website

Wellington, New Zealand and Vancouver, Canada (21 November 2011) – Icebreaker, the New Zealand company that pioneered the outdoor merino wool apparel category, has unveiled its first e-commerce-enabled website in Canada. The debut of Icebreaker’s e-commerce site in Canada comes with a complete redesign of the existing Icebreaker.com website, which first launched in the U.S. in 2006.

“We’re delighted to open our online doors in Canada,” said Steve Gehlen, General Manager of Global e-Commerce. “Canada has been such an important market for us. This website will complement our presence in retailers throughout the country and our Icebreaker TouchLab retail stores in Vancouver and Montréal. With this new website we will be reaching new consumers, further educating our loyal followers and continuing to spread the word about our Kiwi brand.”

The redesigned site boasts various new, user-generated features including product ratings and reviews, questions and answers about specific products, sharing of items via email and social media networks, and wish lists.

The website offers the complete Icebreaker Canadian range and features user-friendly navigation where shoppers can browse by:

· Product Types – Tops, Bottoms, Socks, Underwear, Jackets, Accessories

· Activities – Biking, Hiking, Hunting/Fishing, Lifestyle/Casual, Mountaineering, Multisport, Running/Fitness, Skiing/Snowboarding, Travel, Water Sports, Yoga/Pilates

· Collections – Base Layers, Mid Layers, Outer Layers, Technical Sports, Travel

· Featured Highlights – What’s New, Best Sellers, Highest Rated

In addition to these shopping features, Icebreaker added several new videos covering topics from why wear Icebreaker merino to how to layer Icebreaker’s versatile clothing system. The website also describes Icebreaker’s commitment to sustainability, ethical manufacturing and animal welfare.

The Icebreaker Baacode, a pioneering supply chain transparency and traceability program, is prominently displayed on the global navigation, so customers can trace the origin of their garment online.

“As we branch out into new territories through this e-commerce website in Canada, we want to be sure that Icebreaker customers know exactly where their garments came from and how they were manufactured. The Baacode and the ethics areas of the website help tell that story,” added Gehlen.



About Icebreaker
Launched in 1994, Icebreaker was the first company in the world to develop a merino fibre 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. The Icebreaker apparel system includes underwear, mid layer garments, outerwear, socks and accessories. There are outdoor, technical and lifestyle categories, each with its own specific fabrics and design details. Icebreaker is sold in more than 3000 stores in 43 countries.

Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Icebreaker uses only pure merino handpicked from 140 high country stations in the country’s Southern Alps to create adventure clothing for women, men and kids 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,” a pioneering supply chain transparency and traceability program. 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.