Outdoor brand Icebreaker has opened a new store in Queenstown featuring a refreshed design that reflects the company’s focus on sustainability and its commitment to the region where the brand was born.

The new store on Ballarat Street features environmentally-conscious materials throughout and highlights the brand’s long-standing commitment to working with local merino growers, who supply the raw material for its products.

Photos of individual growers and a map of Icebreakers’ local suppliers are displayed on the walls of the store, and information about the benefits of wearing natural fibres is presented on cards.

The retailer describes the store as providing a comfortable, open and welcoming space, where visitors can relax and enjoy a hot or cold drink, wait for their friends, or pause and plan their next adventure.

“Our new store concept will enable us to present Icebreaker to customers as more than just clothing on racks and instead we can offer a truly memorable experience that those visiting Queenstown retain with them when they return home all over the world,” Scott McNab, Icebreaker’s general manager for New Zealand and Australia, said.

“I’m extremely excited and proud to have such a fantastic display of who we are in our spiritual home.”

More than 55 merino stations in the South Island provide wool for Icebreaker garments, including Walter Peak and Mount Nicholas near Queenstown.

The retailer has had a long-term relationship with New Zealand merino growers since 1997. And in 2017, it singed the longest-ever supply contract with growers, worth $100 million over 10 years.

The contract gives an unprecedented level of financial security to New Zealand growers, and is believed to be the first of its kind globally.