Breaking the ice

A Wellington company that has wooed customers here and in Australia, Switzerland and the Netherlands with its outdoor clothing using fine merino wool is about to attempt the same in Japan and Canada.

Icebreaker, which employs 12 staff in Wellington, is sending its first load of clothes to Japan and Canada next month.

That comes on the heels of a $10 million deal at the weekend for the company to take up to a million kilograms of merino wool over the next three years from 30 South Island farms.

The company's top-end clothing is made in Christchurch, where 50 people are contracted full-time.

Meanwhile, Christchurch-based fashion house Snowy Peak is looking for a spin-off from hosting the managing director of Isetan, Japan's most trendy fashion store, on a whirlwind 36-hour visit.

Noukazo Motu heads the Japanese retailer with a a turnover of 45 billion yen a year.

- NZPA