...LEVI STRAUSS JAPAN K.K. CASE REPORT TIME CONTEXT : May 1993 POINT OF VIEW : Mr. A. John Chappell President and Representative Director MAIN PROBLEM: Levi Strauss Japan K.K. is faced with the dilemma of shrinkage of jeans market. It appeared that after two years of shrinkage (1990, 1991) the market contracted further in 1992. SECONDARY PROBLEMS: 1. Part of the shrinkage of the market can be attributed to the very selective way of choosing retail outlet and sales agents of Levi Strauss Japan K.K. 2. Another cause of market shrinkage is due to the specialization of competitors mainly on women’s jean that brought the industry to a stiff competition. 3. In the side of Japan government, another factor detrimental to the company’s market size is its imposed policy like lowering birth rate and demographic shift to older population which Levi Strauss needs to cope. COMPANY OBJECTIVES: To increase market share of Levi Strauss Japan K.K. from 16% to 20% by the year 1995 and continuously produce quality products that never goes out of style. AREAS OF CONSIDERATION: SWOT ANALYSIS: STRENGTHS 1. Levi Strauss Japan K.K. has an established name in the jeans industry since it had been in operations last 1971. It has been known with its quality product that never goes out of style. 2. LSJ employed a similar strategy to Levi Strauss in the US emphasizing heavy advertising spending. Since 1976, LSJ spent...
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...entirely inappropriate in another group of countries. However Levis has being able to success turns on its ability to create a global strategy that does not strangle in local initiative. It is a delicate balancing act, one that often means giving foreign managers the freedom needed to adjust their tactics to meet the changing tastes of their home markets. Levi always tries to minimize the degree to which culture prevents them from producing standardized promotional campaigns. This is because of the benefits of economies of scale and the higher quality that can be obtained for a single advert than for a multiplicity of local adverts. International Marketing Management Levis Strauss & Co. University College Dublin 3 Culture can also be a barrier in relation to the suitability of the product in particular local markets. Countries differ in their tastes and fashions may create the need for adaptation. For example, in Islamic countries females are discouraged from wearing tight fitting dress. Likewise, Japanese consumers prefer tighter fitting jeans than the American counterparts. It is therefore evident that fit, design and style of jeans need to be adapted to meet the requirements of the local buyers. The appropriate colors to use both in the product and the promotional materials also have cultural dimensions. For example, the white color is associated with death in China but black is the color of death in Europe. Levi Strauss when setting up its own direct sales force found that the...
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... | |Aspiration Statement |18 | |Situation Analysis |19 | |Competitive Analysis |20 | |Current Market Need |22 | |SWOT Analysis |23 | |4 P’S of Levi Strauss |26...
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...case, problems can occur due to ethical and cultural barriers in global expansion. In this paper, I will attempt to show some of what a global organization and a cultural issue that affects their interactions outside the United States by identifying and comparing some of these cultural differences. One company that faces these cultural issues daily is Levis Strauss and Company. Levi Strauss and Company is a large American company found in 1853 and it well known for its denim line. Currently Levis Strauss and Co. has operations in over 110 countries with over half of its corporate revenues coming from outside the United States. In American history, we have all heard complaints of companies in the garment industry hiring underage employees outside the United States and poor working conditions. Levis Strauss and Company has not been left out of these accusations. In the United States, child labor is considered unethical and illegal. Levis Strauss and Companies has established a “Worldwide Code of Business Conduct” along with its “Global Anti-bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy” (Levis Strauss and CO., n d). Within Levis Strauss and Companies “Worldwide Code of Business Conduct it states” These...
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...distant from existing customers, products, and channels” Finally, the fourth cause is the talent bench shortfall that is “a lack of leaders and staff with the skills and capabilities required for strategy execution” Authors emphasize that these causes are mainly within management control since they result from “a choice about strategy or organizational design” They point out that awareness and understanding of these causes assist companies in avoiding the growth stalls. In addition, the article demonstrates few practices that some companies use to predict and prevent the problem. The article provides examples of companies that have faced the crisis. For instance, the premium position captivity reason was among the main factors causing Levi Strauss to lose its share of market. The company failed to note changes in customer preferences and demand. As a result, companies responsive to a new customer demand successfully entered the market and gained ground. Next, 3M fell into the innovation management breakdown trap when they decided to launch new products in the market. Almost every company in the world...
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...Table of Contents Dedication …………………………………………………………………….. 01 Acknowledgement …………………………………….…………………….. 02 Executive Summary ………………………………………………………….. 03 Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 04 History …………………………………………………………………………... 05 Brands ………………………………………………………………………….. 06 Values ………………………………………………………………………….. 09 Vision Statement …………………………………………………………….. 10 Mission Statement …………………………………………………………… 11 Aspiration Statement ……………………………………………………….. 12 Situation Analysis …………………………………………………………….. 14 Competitive Analysis ……………………………………………………….. 14 Current Market Need ………………………………………………………. 15 SWOT Analysis ………………………………………………………………… 17 Objectives …………………………………………………………………….. 20 Scanning Environment ……………………………………………………... 21 Market Segmentation ……………………………………………………. 22 Target Market ………………………………………………………………. 28 Marketing Mix ………………………………………………………………. 30 Product Attributes ………………………………………………………… 31 Brand Positioning …………………………………………………………. 32 Brand Personality …………………………………………………………. 32 Features Analysis Chart ………………………………………………….. 33 Implementation …………………………………………………………… 35 Evaluation ………………………………………………………………….. 38 Budgeting ………………………………………………………………….. 41 Media Strategy ……………………………………………………………. 48 ...
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...Company Overview From our founding more than 157 years ago, Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) has embodied the energy and events of our times, inspiring people from all walks of life with a pioneering spirit. We are the original jeans maker. Our history and longevity are unique in the apparel industry. From our humble start, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest brand-name apparel companies. In 1853, Levi Strauss opened a wholesale dry goods business in San Francisco that became known as “Levi Strauss & Co.” Seeing a need for work pants that could hold up under rough conditions, he and Jacob Davis, a tailor, created the first jean. In 1873, they received a U.S. patent for “waist overalls” with metal rivets at points of strain. The first product line designated by the lot number “501” was created in 1890. Through profits with principles, we are committed to making a positive difference in the communities in which we operate. This history of responsible business practices, rooted in our core values, has helped us build our brands and engender consumer trust around the world. We design and market products that people love and trust. These products include jeans and jeans-related pants, casual and dress pants, tops, jackets, footwear, and related accessories for men, women and children under our Levi's®, Dockers® and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ brand names. We also license our trademarks for a wide array of products, including accessories, pants, tops, footwear, home...
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...Case Reading – The Levi’s Personal Pair Proposal The case talks about Levi Strauss and Co, a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans. Levi’s was approached with a new concept called the Personal Pair. Custom Clothing Technology Corporation had offered Levi Strauss a joint venture proposal that would combine the Levi’s core products with emerging technologies of mass customization. CCTC’s plan was to make special customized jeans that would fit to meet each customer’s unique needs and taste. The problem is that Levi was not sure if they should accept the proposal or not. I analyzed the case by looking at the pros and the cons of the personal pair concept. I though one of the biggest cons of the program was the wait time. A person would first have to come in to get their sizes taken and than would have to wait an additional 3 weeks to get their product. Another con was that Levi would not carry any finished products, which meant that if someone wanted to buy a pair of jeans at the store they would not be able to purchase them and instead would have to pay a higher price to wait 3 weeks for their jeans. I would say that they should reject the proposal because the cons outweigh the pros. The new technology would increase the price of their product by adding another $15 to a pair of jeans, which would be a huge disadvantage for Levi. Levi was already struggling in the lower and upper ends of the apparel market and adding...
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...Levi Strauss & Co. is a flourishing business. Since the early days, it has been a leader in the garment industry. The original and most famous Levi Strauss product is blue jeans. Jeans have become desirable and even fashionable clothing for not only miners, farmers, and cowboys, but also for movie stars, executives, women, children, and teenagers from all over the world. Throughout its history, however, the company has researched and developed a number of other products. The company now markets a wide range of clothing and accessories, all under the brand name Levi’s. Many new Levi products have been launched over the years. Some of these have succeeded beautifully, but others have flopped completely. The company is still best known, however, as the maker of Levi jeans, the pants that are guaranteed to shrink1, wrinkle, and fade2. In 1954, flushed with the success of the cotton twill pants it had introduced a few years earlier, Levi brought out a line of permanent press (no-iron) slacks. Within six months, 5 out of every 100 pairs sold had been returned, and Levi had to admit it didn’t have the right fabric for permanent press. Fifteen years later, as the company was planning its major expansion, it hit on a couple of equally dramatic flops. First was the denim bathing suit—which, when wet, weighed the wearer down to the point of imminent drowning. Next was a line of disposable (throw-away) sheets and towels. These, Levi discovered, were not high on the consumer’s list of priorities...
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...Brand Building your name Class date Instructor name Brand Building Part 1: Branding and Brand Positioning Since high school denim favored the Levi & Strauss blue jeans. The 45 year old male customer with two children who is working in corporate sales for competitor in the cellular industry. Regarding brand preference, the 45 year old customer responded that he wants to try popular brand because many people speaks high about it. Customers' can be loyal only if they believe that the product has some quallity compare to competing brands. The Levi Strauss provides comfort and perfect fit jeans. Levi company starts to produce a new product like denim jackets, that consumer was very much eager to try it on because of thier other good quality products. He believes that the jackets would be the same quality like its other products. Consumers' like about this brand is that with washing it becomes softer and softer than before. Though the consumer has purchased other brands, the Levi Strauss brand represents a value that is hard to find in competing products. One perspective on brand equity, known as the information economics perspective argues "that a brand name acts as credible signal of product quality derived from perceived firm costs or investments" (Anderson, 2007). In other words, the consumer has come to associate the brand with a recognized level of quality. In the case of the consumer interviewed, the perceived quality is in the fit and comfort...
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...ase Reading – The Levi’s Personal Pair Proposal The case talks about Levi Strauss and Co, a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans. Levi’s was approached with a new concept called the Personal Pair. Custom Clothing Technology Corporation had offered Levi Strauss a joint venture proposal that would combine the Levi’s core products with emerging technologies of mass customization. CCTC’s plan was to make special customized jeans that would fit to meet each customer’s unique needs and taste. The problem is that Levi was not sure if they should accept the proposal or not. I analyzed the case by looking at the pros and the cons of the personal pair concept. I though one of the biggest cons of the program was the wait time. A person would first have to come in to get their sizes taken and than would have to wait an additional 3 weeks to get their product. Another con was that Levi would not carry any finished products, which meant that if someone wanted to buy a pair of jeans at the store they would not be able to purchase them and instead would have to pay a higher price to wait 3 weeks for their jeans. I would say that they should reject the proposal because the cons outweigh the pros. The new technology would increase the price of their product by adding another $15 to a pair of jeans, which would be a huge disadvantage for Levi. Levi was already struggling in the lower and upper ends of the apparel market and adding another...
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...In 2002, CEO of Levi Strauss, Phil Marineau was faced with a tough decision: whether he should sell product at Wal-Mart. In the last five years, Levi-Strauss had lost sales and had to close US plants to move production to cheaper offshore areas. Levi's really needed to revive the brand image to gain back some lost sales and was using marketing to create new advertisements and product placement to broaden their target market. Levi's had tough competition on every level of the price-point spectrum, whether it be high end retailers like Diesel or Calvin Klein, middle vertically integrated retailers like Gap or American Eagles, and on the bottom, private-label brands like Wal-Mart and Target. Levi's had sold to Wal-Mart through a value brand called Brittania in the 80's and the 90s, but that came to an end in 1994 over a dispute in Canada about Levi's Orange Tab jeans. After that, sales dwindled for Brittania, and Levi's sold Brittania to VF Corp. In 2002, however, Levi's was thinking about offering a new value brand for Wal-Mart. It was not that easy of a decision though. They had to think of a way to keep the existing customers in the other channels and not lessen the brand's perceived quality overall. Overall, the apparel market had been growing steadily since 1998 until 2001, when it dropped 5.7% in dollars from the year before. The total jeans sales accounted for approximately 7% of the total $166 billion made in 2001 with 569 million pairs sold. Experts in the apparel industry...
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...several different marketing arrangements: Co-branding, also called brand partnership is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy. "The term 'co-branding' is relatively new to the business vocabulary and is used to encompass a wide range of marketing activity involving the use of two brands”. | | Levi’s & Naturals: We are doing co-branding for Levis and naturals only in the southern part of India. About Levi’s Levi Strauss & Co is an American clothing company. It was started in the year 1853. Levi Strauss & Co. is a worldwide corporation organized into three geographic divisions: Levi Strauss Americas (LSA), based in the San Francisco headquarters; Levi Strauss Europe, Middle East and Africa (LSEMA), based in Brussels; and Asia Pacific Division (APD), based in Singapore. The company employs a staff of approximately 10,500 people worldwide. The core Levi's was founded in 1873 in San Francisco, specializing in riveted denim jeans and different lines of casual and street fashion. From the early 1960s through the mid-1970s, Levi Strauss experienced significant growth in its business as the more casual look of the 1960s and 1970s ushered in the "blue jeans craze" and served as a catalyst for the brand. Levi's, under the leadership of Walter Haas Jr., Peter Haas, Ed Combs, and Mel Bacharach, expanded the firm's clothing line by adding new fashions and models, including stone-washed jeans through the acquisition of Great Western...
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...1) Levi Strauss & Co. was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business. In 1873 Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis received a U.S. patent to make the first riveted men's work pants out of denim: the first blue jeans. The company briefly experimented (in the 1970s) with a public stock listing, but remains owned and controlled by descendants and relatives of Levi Strauss's four nephews. 2) For convenient return processing on most orders, your packing slip will include a pre-paid, pre-addressed label for your return package. When you use the pre-paid shipping label to mail to Levi’s your return, Levi’s will deduct $7.00 from your order refund. 3) Levi Strauss had the canvas made into waist overalls. Miners liked the pants, but complained that they tended to chafe. Levi Strauss substituted a twilled cotton cloth from France called "serge de Nimes." The fabric later became known as denim and the pants were nicknamed blue jeans. The company has its corporate headquarters at Levi's Plaza in San Francisco. 4) Levi’s jeans have different colors for every model, so the Levi’s 559 Relaxed Straight is available in different styles like Rebuilt Dark Indigo and Eagle Eye. 5) To wear the Levi’s 559, you must pull the jeans up, raise the zipper, and button up the belt line. Levi Strauss & Co. has always made durable jeans that usually last more than...
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...Human Resource Management Week 2 Assignment August 30, 2012 Chapter 2 Learning Exercise 2 1. Small businesses comprise a major portion of the U.S. economy. Larger companies typically have more resources to hire staff dedicated to supporting the management of employees than do smaller companies, which often lack formal HR departments to provide similar support. This does not eliminate the need to attend to people issues in smaller companies; rather line managers or company owners must perform HR practices in addition to their other activities. Also, smaller businesses often do not have the resources to provide the same level of pay, benefits, and training opportunities to employees as larger companies. 2. Although small companies often do not have the same type or level of resources enjoyed by larger companies, the importance of effectively managing employees may be magnified in smaller companies. With a smaller staff, managers may expect employees to display greater autonomy and discretion. As a result, the types of knowledge, skills, and abilities that employees may need in small versus large companies, even for the same job, differ. Furthermore, in contrast to large operations, in a small company, the performance of each employee is likely to have a larger, more direct impact on company success. 3. Yes, it would influence my decision about how to manage my employees. The pressures of managing employees in a young, startup company are different from...
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