Free Essay

Levi and Strauss & Co

In:

Submitted By maninderer9644
Words 831
Pages 4
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. Unable to interest hotels in the product, the company was saved when the factory that made the sheets burned down. Levi absorbed the $250,000 loss.
Eventually Levi created six new divisions, ranging from jeans to accessories and including a sizable effort in women’s sportswear, Levi’s for Gals. The diversification3 worked. In the mid-1970s Levi’s sales hit the billion-dollar mark, having taken 125 years to reach that milestone. Four years later sales hit $2 billion. In 1979 the company ranked 167 on Fortune’s4 list of the 500 largest industrial corporations, and 20 in net profits.5 Between 1970 and 1980 Levi had grown an average of 23 percent a year. In 1979 alone it sold 143 million garments.
In menswear, though, all Levi products had been aimed at the middle of the market. The company had brought out a line of moderately dressy slacks and polyester leisure suits—the Action Slack and Action Suit—and was doing a brisk business with them. But the tempting upper end of the market remained untouched.
“If we want to grow we’re probably going to have to go to upper moderate price points,” one Levi official explained, “and somewhat higher taste level for our products.” In short, they needed to sell more expensive clothes—like the Tailored Classic. If Levi could sell sport coats, dress slacks, and, above all, suits, a whole new market would open up. The Tailored Classic might make money all by itself. But even more important, it would get Levi into the business of producing fancier and costlier clothing. The consumer would come to think of it as a manufacturer of dress apparel and it could spin off6 many more such lines in the future.
Why, with such a record of success would any company be worrying about making new products? Part of the answer, obviously, is the sheer riskiness of depending so heavily on a single item. The boom in jeans was in many ways a historical accident, and what history has given it can also take away.
Then, too, the demographics of the marketplace were already beginning to change. Jeans, to be sure, were no longer the exclusive province of youth: baby boomers7 who had grown up on Levi’s kept on wearing them into their twenties. But they would no longer be wearing them everywhere and all the time, as they did when they were teenagers. And the next generation of adolescents was not so numerous. The birthrate had peaked in 1957; by 1964, demographers agreed, the baby boom in the United Stated was over. The bulge in the population that the boom had created would soon be moving into a world of casual slacks, leisure suits, and coats and ties. From a marketing point of view, that’s where the action would be.
Finally, the competition had been gearing up. Levi’s had always shared the market with Blue Bell’s Wranglers and other national brands like Lee. But now everyone seemed to be selling jeans. Back in 1970 Levi probably couldn’t have foreseen the popularity of “designer” jeans skimming off8 the upper end of the market. But they could certainly anticipate cut-rate models gnawing away at the low end. To sell their wares, Levi knew, retailers would have to slash prices. The profit outlook in a saturated, competitive marketplace like this was bleak.
Adapted from: Boyd, F. (1994). Making Business Decisions: Real Cases from Real Companies. USA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Levi Strauss and Co.: Creating a Sub-Brand

...Levi Strauss and Co.: Creating a Sub-Brand 1. How would you characterize Levi’s branding strategy in general? What are the positive aspects? Are there any negative aspects? Branding strategy according to businessdictionary.com- the long-term marketing support for a brand, based on the definition of the characteristics of the target consumers. It includes understanding of their preferences, and expectations of the brand. Regarding Levi’s specifically, the case discusses that the branding strategy is identifying the quality of the clothing itself. Key words such as durable, dependable, and quality are often words used throughout the marketing campaigns. Generally speaking, they are simply targeting almost any category: rich, poor, etc. Although no company is perfect, I do believe that there are no significantly negative aspects about Levi’s branding strategy. 2. Analyze the Dockers communication strategy at the time of the launch. How did it fit in with past Levi’s advertisement efforts? How did it contribute to brand equity? Communication strategy according to epa.gov- Should include: outlining the objective/goals of the communication, identify key stakeholders, define key messages, and specify the mechanisms that will be used to obtain feedback on the strategy. Brand equity according to investopedia.com- the value premium that a company realizes from a product with a recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent. At the time of the launch...

Words: 807 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Levi Strauss & Co

...* * * * * Name :Jeow Zhi How * Student ID :13019914 * Subject Code :MKT2054 * Table of Contents Introduction 2 Social-class microcultures in consumer behavior 2 Implications to marketing practitioners 3 Suggestion for Improvement 4 Conclusion 4 Reference list 5 Introduction Market nowadays is so rapid-constantly changing and so broad. Company needs to adapt to these characteristics of the market and also understanding the consumer’s behavior in the market for them to survive and outrun their competitors. This discussion would further examine the company, Levi Strauss (Levi’s), marketing strategy in the garment industry in the context of Malaysia and also suggestions would be given for improvements. Levi’s first entered into the garment industry in 1873 with the birth of the first pair of jeans. Levi’s has been improving since and now, it is one of the world largest brand-name and also a global leader in jeanswear, according to San Francisco(2014). After gaining reputation as well as high profit, they have been selling other garment products besides jeans, such as clothings, caps, belts, and so on. Social-class micro cultures in consumer behavior A social class is a huge group of people, who have a similar position in an economic system, said by Moffitt(2015). Differentiating, positioning, and targeting different social class plays an important role in marketing. Consumers from different social class have different...

Words: 1481 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Levi Strauss & Co.

...Important Test questions –B200B Question (1): Differentiate between the following: 1. Marketing and selling The Answer: Marketing: Marketing means working with markets to bring about exchanges for the purpose of satisfying human needs and wants. Marketing must be understood not in the old sense of making a sale – selling – but in the new sense of satisfying customer needs. Selling Selling or promotions are part of a larger marketing mix, the concept is typically practiced with unsought goods – those that buyers do not normally think of buying, such as encyclopedias and funeral plots it starts with the factory, focuses on the company’s existing product and calls for heavy selling and promotion to obtain profit sales. Consumers will not buy enough of the organization’s products unless it undertakes a large scale effort in selling and promotion. A selling oriented organization thus focuses on short terms results; because they care only for their sales not for customer’s satisfaction and they are not searching or looking for long term relationship with customers. 2. Goods and services Answer: Goods and services Goods (tangible, stored, production precedes, consumption, low customer contact, transported, quality is evident) Service (intangible, can't be stored, production and consumption are simultaneous, high customer contact, can't transported, quality difficult to judge) 1- Tangibility: - Goods are tangible and services are intangible...

Words: 5886 - Pages: 24

Free Essay

Levis Presentation

...Levi Strauss & Co. An Analysis EEP 142 Group Project Young Lee James Moon Michael Lin Problem •The Levi Strauss company is experiencing losses and is continuing to under-perform in the denim jean market. •The firm faces the general problem of a dominant firm losing market share when more firms enter the market. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Background - History •The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 primarily selling wholesale dry goods. The company was founded in San Francisco, California. •A tailor named Jacob Davis thought of an idea to use copper rivets to reinforce the points of strain on pants. •Davis and Strauss purchased the patent of the idea of using copper rivets in clothing on May 20, 1873. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Background - Company Growth •The innovation of the rivets in the jeans differentiated Levi’s jeans from others because of its increased durability. •Over the years, Levi’s jeans have become more popular, initially due to its durability. Jean products expanded, targeting different consumers. •Levi Strauss & Co. eventually captures most of the denim jean market, becomes the largest manufacturer of jeans, and profits reach $1 billion by 1974. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Background - Time Line •1853: Levi Strauss begins selling dry goods in San Francisco....

Words: 2348 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Llevi

...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...

Words: 1446 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Co-Branding

...Co Branding What is Co-Branding? Co branding refers to 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...

Words: 773 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Research

...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...

Words: 369 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Mine

...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...

Words: 821 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Paper 3

...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...

Words: 700 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Case Analysis

...Brand Management Case No. 4 DOCKERS: CREATING A SUB-BRAND INTRODUCTION In the spring of 1985, Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) was flush with its success in the blue jeans market. The company’s star campaign, called “501 Blues,” had recently brought new vitality to the company after several failed expansions into other apparel market segments in the earlier part of the decade. Confident in the wake of 501’s success, the company was contemplating its next steps when research revealed a decline in jeans purchases by LS&Co.’s core customer base of baby boomers. In short, the company’s “bread and butter” customer for the last 30 years - the American male teenager - was now 25-40 and was moving out of the jeans market at an alarming rate. To retain these customers even as their jeans purchases slowed or stopped, the company introduced Levi’s Dockers casual pants. Dockers, as the name was later shortened to, was one of the most successful new product introductions of the 1980s in the clothing industry. Consumers responded to the product design, which utilized the comfort and casual feel of cotton, and likeable advertising by purchasing enough Dockers to make a billion-dollar brand by 1993. Over the course of the 1990s, LS&Co. enjoyed phenomenal success from its Dockers sub-brand. The Dockers brand achieved record sales growth in 1998 and Fortune magazine estimated in 1999 that 75 percent of American men owned a pair of Dockers and that the average customer owned...

Words: 11800 - Pages: 48

Premium Essay

Marketing

...SUMMARY Levis was originated in 1849 by a poor Bavarian immigrant in San Francisco, named Levi Strauss. It was initially originated to sell the durable pair of paints to Gold miners that could withstand their rugged lifestyles. By the 1890s, the popularity of their jeans and other dry goods had spread, and to keep better track of the expanding product line, LS. &Co. adopted a new inventory system. Levi’s jeans were assigned the lot number “501” and given that number as their name. And hence, in 1890 “501 Jeans” and by 1969 it evolved into an American icon. What had originally been a tough pair of pants had become a symbol of freedom, adventure, and independence. The Levi’s brand name was given because it became synonymous with jeans. Initial diversification efforts produced promising results. Starting in 1980 however, LS. &Co. began a three-year earnings decline. Bob Haas was the former chairman of Levi Strauss. Between 1980 and 1982, sales fell 10 % and the net income dropped 76%. Decline in jeans purchases because of the baby boomers were aging. Slacks sales increased and companies were relaxing their dress codes. In 1986, it Combined style, Versatility and Comfort. A brand for both professional and leisure activities. More contemporary, less conservative, and more casual than other leading slacks. By 1993, Dockers was a $1 billion brand. Wrinkle-free look-a-like brand led to Dockers’ first drop in sales. Dockers’ was losing existing customers and failing to...

Words: 2379 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Levis Case

...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...

Words: 291 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Case Brief Levi. V. Abercrombie

...Levi Strauss & Co. V. Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Co. 633 F.3d 1158 (2011) FACTS: Levi Strauss has stitched a design on the back pockets of its jeans since 1873. Levi Strauss holds multiple federally registered trademarks on this bow-shaped design, an “Arcuate”. They are required to actively monitor competing designs and enforce its trademark rights. In 2005, Abercrombie & Fitch attempted to register a “mirror” image stitching design for use on certain products. Levi Strauss argued that this design should be barred because it could potentially cause confusion with and dilute the Levi Strauss Arcuate mark. While the ninth circuit appeal was pending, Abercrombie announced the shutdown of the Ruehl brand and the Ruehl retail stores. Abercrombie then proceeded to file a new trademark-registration application with the PTO. This time they were attempting to register the same mirror image with a different brand name, Gilley Hicks. These would be sold at different prices, and through different channels than their former Ruehl line. After this, Levi Strauss attempted to have Abercrombie agree to amend the pleadings to add Gilley Hicks, or say that any injunction occurred would extend to include the Gilley Hicks line as well; Abercrombie refused. PROCEDURAL HISTORY: On July 20, 2007, Levi Strauss sued Abercrombie in the Northern District of California after learning that Abercrombie was selling products with this mirror image on a line of jeans- the “Ruehl”. The district court held a...

Words: 610 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Levis' Advertising Plan

...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 ...

Words: 6512 - Pages: 27

Premium Essay

Dockers

...DOCKERS: CREATING A SUB-BRAND INTRODUCTION In the spring of 1985, Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) was flush with its success in the blue jeans market. The company’s star campaign, called “501 Blues,” had recently brought new vitality to the company after several failed expansions into other apparel market segments in the earlier part of the decade. Confident in the wake of 501’s success, the company was contemplating its next steps when research revealed a decline in jeans purchases by LS&Co.’s core customer base of baby boomers. In short, the company’s “bread and butter” customer for the last 30 years - the American male teenager - was now 25-40 and was moving out of the jeans market at an alarming rate. To retain these customers even as their jeans purchases slowed or stopped, the company introduced Levi’s Dockers casual pants. Dockers, as the name was later shortened to, was one of the most successful new product introductions of the 1980s in the clothing industry. Consumers responded to the product design, which utilized the comfort and casual feel of cotton, and likeable advertising by purchasing enough Dockers to make a billion-dollar brand by 1993. Over the course of the 1990s, LS&Co. enjoyed phenomenal success from its Dockers sub-brand. The Dockers brand achieved record sales growth in 1998 and Fortune magazine estimated in 1999 that 75 percent of American men owned a pair of Dockers and that the average customer owned 3.8 pairs. That year, the total number of Dockers...

Words: 621 - Pages: 3