Icebreaker announced that Cathy Quain has joined its team as the company’s first global Vice President of Retail. In this new leadership team position, Quain is responsible for strategically developing and directing Icebreaker’s global retail business strategy, with an emphasis on growing the brand’s own retail stores, called TouchLabs. Her initial focus will be in North America.
Quain will be based out of Icebreaker’s US headquarters in Portland, Ore.
Quain comes to Icebreaker with more than 20 years of retail management experience. Most recently, she was Vice President of Marketing, Retail & E-commerce at California fashion brand Trina Turk. Prior to that, Quain was with Burton Snowboards where, in her last position as Vice President – Direct to Consumer, she was responsible for managing its retail and ecommerce sales and direct marketing initiatives, plus opening 13 stores worldwide. She also spent seven years with Giorgio Armani, where she worked in licensing and multi-store management for retail.
Icebreaker has already begun its TouchLab expansion plan.This fall, it will open retail locations in Chicago and Bethseda, Maryland that feature an impactful new design that brings to life the New Zealand sheep stations that supply Icebreaker’s all-natural merino wool. That new design will be taken to its existing stores over the coming months.
Icebreaker now has 17 TouchLab retail stores, including nine in North American, six Australasian, and one each in France and Switzerland. Icebreaker will be looking for more TouchLab locations in North America and Europe.
