In 1994, Jeremy Moon was a 24-year-old market researcher touring the South Island with his American girlfriend. On the trip to a remote sheep station he made a discovery that would change his life.
Farmer Brian Brackenridge showed Moon some prototypes of merino wool thermal underclothing. Although the style didn’t look great, Moon was intrigued – he wore the merino t-shirt for a week and was impressed with the softness of the fabric and the fact that, despite a week of wear, it didn’t smell. The polypropylene which dominated the market for cold weather undergarments at the time could not make that claim.
Moon was so impressed by the fabric and the potential of Merino wool that he quit his job, mortgaged his house – telling the bank he needed the money to refit his kitchen – and launched the company Icebreaker.
It was a radical move. Moon was told by one person he tried to sell to that “wool is dead.” The fibre had a reputation for being scratchy and uncomfortable, suitable only for grandad jumpers and men’s suits.
However, Moon persevered, and as he began to offer more colours and styles, sales began picking up.
In the late ‘90s the commodity trading in wool almost sank Icebreaker. The traditional model of selling wool meant it was bought a season at a time, with farmers unable to count on a predictable price or guarantee any particular quality.
This resulted in a run of low-quality wool which caused Icebreaker products to start literally unravelling.
In order to save the business Moon decided to break the commodities cycle. He offered individual farmers multi-year contracts at premium prices, provided they could produce uniformly high quality fibre.
It’s worked out to be a great move for all parties. The farmers have a stable and predictable income and Icebreaker gets a steady supply of good wool. The number of sheep stations signed to Icebreaker has grown to the point that by 2010 Icebreaker was purchasing 20% of New Zealand wool.
The relationship with individual stations also gave Icebreaker a way to enhance its natural and sustainable image. In 2008 it issued ‘baacodes’ with each garment which allows buyers to trace the origin of their clothing back to the original station the wool came from.
In the early days of Icebreaker Moon, who has a masters in cultural anthropology and consumer behaviour, realised that the Icebreaker brand would need to triumph the ides of kinship with nature to oppose the synthetic materials brought out by other companies.
Icebreaker has grown to sell products in over 3000 stores across 50 countries. It opened the first dedicated North American store in New York in 2010 and has continued to grow from there.
In 2008 Moon was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to business. He also chairs the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Better by Design group, which helps companies become competitive internationally by integrating design principles across their business.
Jeremy Moon’s advice for startups.
Do:
- Hold onto your brand’s core message.
- Use retail to create a deeper connection with your customers.
- Hire a specialist team of advisers when opening in new markets.
- Connect with the local community to create brand advocates.
Don’t:
- See wholesale and retail as substitutes – they should be complementary.
- Be afraid to be anti-fashion.
- Forget that great brands grow through word-of-mouth.