Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Icebreaker moves up departure to Portland

Kiwi clothier will close Ketchum office in July


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

New Zealand outdoor clothing manufacturer Icebreaker will close its U.S. headquarters in Ketchum nearly a year earlier than planned.

Originally, the company had planned on a staggered relocation to Portland, Ore., with the sales and marketing team moving in the spring and finance-operations and customer-service personnel following a year later.

Of the dozen employees in the Ketchum office, half are in sales and marketing.

The office is upstairs above the Burger Grill on Main Street in Ketchum.

Deb Boswell, Icebreaker's U.S. marketing manager, said the new plan is to move the entire office in July rather than taking the piecemeal approach. Boswell said the change was a result of timing, as the company's busiest period falls between September and November, therefore making it easier for clients.

Just as importantly, Boswell said, the change would give the employees who do not want to relocate more time to make alternative plans.

The company offered all its Ketchum employees the opportunity to retain their jobs and will help with moving costs.

Boswell said five or six employees have already confirmed they will head to Oregon, but added that she wasn't certain how many would end up moving away from the Wood River Valley.

Icebreaker's pure New Zealand merino wool products, ranging from long underwear to outerwear jackets, have become quite popular with area skiers and are sold in a number of sports retail shops throughout the valley.

The company's success in the United States is the impetus for the move, as it's expected to have 50 to 60 employees in the next 18 months, a company representative said last fall.

"It really became a question of our rate of growth and the available talent pool," Boswell said.

She said that an ad for employment placed in The Oregonian, the state's largest newspaper, resulted in over 100 resumes over the course of this past weekend.

"The response we already received really validates the decision," Boswell said.

Icebreaker established a design team in Portland last year, having branched out from its home in Wellington, New Zealand, to Ketchum three years ago to establish a marketing base in the United States.

According to the company's Web site, Icebreaker has 1,500 retail outlets and exports to more than 22 countries.




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