Marketing Mix and Sustainability Strategy for Icebreaker

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Icebreaker, a company specializing in sustainable garments made from merino wool and petrochemical fibres. It examines Icebreaker's marketing mix, including product development, promotion strategies, distribution channels, and pricing models, all within the context of their commitment to sustainability. The analysis highlights Icebreaker's sustainable practices, such as their focus on animal welfare, environmental protection, and transparency in the supply chain. The report also explores Icebreaker's competitive advantages in the market, emphasizing their innovative approach and commitment to long-term relationships with wool growers. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, underscoring Icebreaker's dedication to quality, transparency, and sustainable business practices. The report also highlights the company's efforts to address environmental concerns and maintain a competitive edge in the apparel industry.

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Icebreaker
Sustainable Management and Marketing
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Contents
Contents......................................................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Marketing Mix...........................................................................................................................2
Product...................................................................................................................................2
Promotion...............................................................................................................................3
Distribution............................................................................................................................4
Pricing....................................................................................................................................4
Sustainability Strategy...............................................................................................................4
Competitive Advantage..............................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Icebreaker is a company providing garments of petrochemical fibres and merino wool for
maintaining sustainability started by Jeremy Moon in 1994. He developed the world’s first
natural layering system with exceptional warmth. The company focused on building long-
term relations with wool growers in concern with maintaining trust for animal welfare and
environment protection. The company lead in banning the mulesing of sheep and made
policy for animal welfare, and work with innovative technology for providing quality
products. The company’s sustainable principles guides through three rules applied on sheep
station of high-country, environment, and business which is varied according to the
changing environment, cooperation for working together achieving the common benefits,
and sustainability for not wasting nature (Green, 2014). In this report, the aim is to analyse
the market position of the company relating to sustainable interests.
Marketing Mix
It is important for the company to make a strategy for future growth with a change in
technology, quality improvement and achieving competitive advantage. Icebreaker success
is attained by innovation strategy through management for development effectively. The
company implements plans by analysing its structures and the current environment for
continuous growth by evaluating its marketing mix (Gummesson, 2017). The marketing mix
is discussed of the company in relation to the sustainable marketing interests of Icebreaker.
Product
Icebreaker aims at natural and sustainable products that look for longevity and versatility in
designing products. It provides high-quality clothes that are needed by the customers where
they avoid wasting resources and keep on processing natural and synthetic materials. The
company uses merino wool for clothing performance which feels great after wearing it on
the skin, free-breathing, temperature regulations and no odor in the fabric (Slade, 2012).
Moreover, the company mixes merino with some other fabric to deliver the quality required
by customers where the technology plays a major role to enhance benefits for the buyer.
This process is not done for working with poor quality or for using cheaper fabrics but to
improve the functionality of merino for its various uses (Ross, 2018). The company inspires

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with its commitment not to be reliable on petrochemical fibres and search for natural
solutions and substitutes.
Source: (Icebreaker, 2018).
The demand of the customer is for light-weight fabrics but it leads to lower fabric reliability
which leads to holes. The company uses RealFLEECE fabric to provide warmth and softness,
BodyfitZONE is blended with the touch of LYCRA for improving performance as a part of a
company’s innovative technology. Icebreaker used the fabric named Tencel for blending it
with merino which is for Cool-Lite summer made of cellulose by renewable eucalyptus trees.
The merino fabric used is machine washable, insulating light-weight, and breathable
(Icebreaker, 2018).
Promotion
Icebreaker promotes human rights under the principles of supply chain and the use of
synthetic fabrics an ideal where the company respects nature. The promotion is done for
using natural materials which helps in reducing the pollution by not using petrochemical
fibres (Mitchell, et al., 2009). In the future, they support in delivering healthy needs globally
and active lifestyles which helps in reducing the illness and deaths due to chemicals and
pollution. The company promotes a secure and safe environment of working for employees
and maintains transparency in promoting sustainable practices (Kearins, et al., 2015). The
transparency report of the company is committed for 22 years for building an ethical
business. Icebreaker’s supply chain promotes continuous improvement, communication,

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and teamwork with a flexible workplace for healthy balancing within the company. The
promotional activities are done by giving sale offers, promo codes and coupons, and other
offers to the customers.
Distribution
Icebreaker launched water-soluble bags for delivery and distribution of products for
avoiding plastic bags. The company has 45 stores, e-commerce in 23 countries with 2,579
wholesale accounts. The main distribution centre is in New Zealand, Germany, and Canada
(Pawson & Perkins, 2017). The packaging of the product is done with swing tags, wraps, and
boxes for selling to distribute.
Pricing
The company provides long-term sustainability and stability by enabling price through
supply contracts at the agreed levels. This source and model of pricing helps grower
suppliers in removing price instability and increasing financial security for the future. The
prices were set according to market prices and consumer preferences (Reidy, 2017).
Sustainability Strategy
Icebreaker’s three-year sustainability strategy and thought of looking at the insights of its
impacts, challenges, opportunities, and issues developed in the company where growers
recognized environmental management strategy of their property, and human rights
strategy in its code of conduct (Davies, et al., 2018). The main concern is about the
sustainability strategy which provides a structure to focus on driving performance and
investment, and providing satisfaction to the company’s workforces and customers.
Icebreaker aims to prove its clothing is differently made shown in its new transparency
report for setting goals, attaining goals effectively and achieve success (Swaffield &
Winchester, 2016). The company makes high-performance merino wool apparel with
providing quality where it also covers social, economic, and environmental standards for
animal welfare. The formation, principles, and evolution are linked to the grower, supply
chain, and involvement of every individual including employees and customers. The belief
of consumers makes the company achieve effective results producing the best fibre to use
while addressing issues and knowing situations for improvement measures and corrective

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actions (Meany, 2018). Other clothing companies attempt to upset the company by
reducing plastic synthetics providing discovery into contracts of the supply chain, packaging
innovations, and wage commitments. Icebreaker is using Baacode enables consumers to
trace fibres in apparel from the farm. The company deals with supply chain practices, facing
challenges with disclosure of supply chain practices, frameworks, and policies for separating
the company from the base of petrochemical synthetics. The company outsources 85% of
raw material as natural fibre and became the first long-term clothing company with the
establishment of merino wool growers. Icebreaker works with 50,000 employees in 15
countries where this strategy will help in covering complete carbon and report for waste
emissions. It is important for the company not to waste and take care of health aspects
measured under the Icebreaker Accreditation Standard (edie newsroom, 2018). The major
issue of the company is that it is not very transparent about being fair, climate and
environment-friendly with its own products manufactured and traded. It is difficult for the
customers to judge whether the Icebreaker’s products are recommendable to use or not in
terms of sustainability (Jr, 2012). Hence, the strategy used by the Icebreaker is a successful
one after the changes and improvements needed in the company with innovation and
fulfilling the customer experience with sustainability and transparency.
Competitive Advantage
Icebreaker major competitors are Ibex Outdoor Clothing, Smartwool and North Face, and
others are LL.Bean, Darn Tough, teleNetwork, Atria clothing, Arcteryx, and QOR (Stewart,
2017). The company of merino wool clothing retailer was sold for $100 million to US-based
VF Corporation that also owns The North Face, Timberland and Vans (Shaw, 2017).
Icebreaker has the advantage of minimizing and controlling the mark of the company as it
grows with unique values. Icebreaker is trying to gain a strong competitive advantage in
electronics, telecommunications, tourism, wine, and textiles with large market expansion
globally with an increase in opportunities and performance facing risks and losses as well.
The company took advantage of the Internet as a source for attracting consumers as
transparency is the key element of Icebreaker (nzte.govt.nz, 2019). The company confirms
its sufficient portion of the budget which helps in positioning for understanding insights
from the customers for achieving the competitive advantage to maintain Icebreaker’s

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success (Paredes, 2016). The market position of the company is at its peak to achieve
sustainability for consumer satisfaction and expansion, and taking care of the environment
and animal welfare.
Conclusion
To conclude, Icebreaker mainly focuses on the sustainability of the company to achieve the
quality of merino fabrics and avoid using plastic bags. The company is kind towards animal
welfare and providing light-weight synthetics with technology innovation, and make
changes in the business for future growth. They have a competitive advantage against their
competitors and the aim of the company is to maintain transparency to attract consumers.

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