Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Levi's Brand Name
Levi Strauss and Company is one of the world’s strongest brand names and longest running companies. Its clear and distinctive labels and logos speak every time anyone wears their jeans or pants. With strong strategies they have been able to keep their fingers on the pulse of American youth trends for a more than a century. Levi’s has not only provided a good product but they helped us see ourselves as bolder, more adventurous and sexier, and consumers have rewarded them for it. It all boils down to having the main ingredients: they have had good strategies for providing a quality product, logistics that adapted to respond to macro-changes and they have maintained the dialogue with their core consumers transferring that dialogue to each successive generation and market segment. Their leadership has demonstrated the good sense to treasure their iconic past and traditions. Levi’s first international subsidiary was formed in the 1950s. This is where they currently have a huge potential market so the strategy must be conducted with extreme sensitivity. They can, however, apply many lessons that they have learned over their more than a century in business and they are in an enviable position for making a huge impact in the burgeoning economies of the Far East and of other developing nations. After all, the basic product is one that touches our bodies and our lives with reliable comfort many, many times over the courses of our lives
Great Brands
“Great brands and businesses are built through a combination of two things: continuously providing superior products and services and earning the trust of consumers, employees, and the communities in which they operate. This is the formula for sustained business success.”
Robert D. Haas, Chairman Emeritus, Levi Strauss & Co
Robert D. Haas, Chairman Emeritus, Levi Strauss & Co
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Original Tailors
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Levi's and Water (taken from Levi's site)
Global Effluent Requirements
We established our first global water quality guidelines in 1992. In fact, we were first company in our industry to establish global guidelines for water quality standards for our suppliers.
•Our Global Effluent Requirements (GER) mandate the maximum wastewater contaminant levels for our manufacturing locations worldwide. We updated this document in 2007 to apply to all factories that finish or launder garments for Levi Strauss & Co. In 2009, we extended the guidelines to include second-tier suppliers of bulk fabric and sundry items.
•Extending the GER grew out of our work with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and seven other companies. Through BSR’s Sustainable Water Group, we are focused on future efforts that go beyond keeping water clean to comprehensive water management programs that include water reclamation, water efficiency and reuse.
CEO Water Mandate
Levi Strauss & Co is one of the founding member signatories of the CEO Water Mandate.
Established in July 2007, this unique public-private initiative, under the auspices of the United Nations Global Compact, assists companies in the development, implementation and disclosure of water sustainability policies and practices.
Our signature acknowledges that companies have a responsibility to make water-resources management a priority and to work with governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to address the global water challenge.
Our commitment to the CEO Water Mandate is ongoing. Read our progress report to learn about new steps we have taken to improve water management.
Water Footprint
Our business relies on abundant sources of water, whether it is in cotton growing, manufacturing or providing potable water for workers wherever we operate.
•Direct operations. The water usage associated with our direct operations is a small piece of our overall water footprint (only about 1% of the water is linked to manufacturing the product). But addressing water usage, quality and availability within our direct operations not only reduces our overall environmental footprint, it also makes good business sense to operate as efficiency and cost effectively as possible. We are committed to measuring and reporting our water footprint on an ongoing basis.
•Measurement. Since 2008, we have been tracking water usage throughout our owned and operated facilities. With that data, we are able to compare within and across regions and facility types and develop targets for water reduction at each facility.
•Tracking supplier usage. In 2009, we began to collect water use data directly from our suppliers, as well as our own operations. Facilitating this data collection effort is our new Social and Environmental Sustainability Information Management System (SESIMS), which allows us to monitor detailed environmental performance at the supplier level.
•Water use in the supply chain. More than 50% of the water associated with our products stems from activities in our supply chain – from cotton production to retail sales. Currently, the supply chain is the primary focus of our water stewardship activities. For example, through the Better Cotton Initiative, we are aiming to help reduce water and pesticide consumption in the cotton industry.
Consumer
In 2007, we performed a lifecycle assessment of our Levi’s® 501 jeans and Dockers® Original Khakis. From growing the cotton that eventually becomes a pair of jeans to recycling those jeans, the impact on water consumption is clear:
•Over 3,000 liters of water are used during the full product lifecycle of a single pair of 501 jeans, from the cotton production and manufacturing process to keeping the jeans clean.
•45% of the water used in the lifecycle of a pair of 501 jeans occurs during the wash-and-dry home care by the customer.
As a result, we have launched a concerted effort to encourage customers to reduce the environmental impact of caring for their clothes by washing their jeans in cold water.
Our partnership with Procter & Gamble’s Tide Coldwater raises awareness about the environmental and economic advantages of washing in cold water.
We established our first global water quality guidelines in 1992. In fact, we were first company in our industry to establish global guidelines for water quality standards for our suppliers.
•Our Global Effluent Requirements (GER) mandate the maximum wastewater contaminant levels for our manufacturing locations worldwide. We updated this document in 2007 to apply to all factories that finish or launder garments for Levi Strauss & Co. In 2009, we extended the guidelines to include second-tier suppliers of bulk fabric and sundry items.
•Extending the GER grew out of our work with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and seven other companies. Through BSR’s Sustainable Water Group, we are focused on future efforts that go beyond keeping water clean to comprehensive water management programs that include water reclamation, water efficiency and reuse.
CEO Water Mandate
Levi Strauss & Co is one of the founding member signatories of the CEO Water Mandate.
Established in July 2007, this unique public-private initiative, under the auspices of the United Nations Global Compact, assists companies in the development, implementation and disclosure of water sustainability policies and practices.
Our signature acknowledges that companies have a responsibility to make water-resources management a priority and to work with governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to address the global water challenge.
Our commitment to the CEO Water Mandate is ongoing. Read our progress report to learn about new steps we have taken to improve water management.
Water Footprint
Our business relies on abundant sources of water, whether it is in cotton growing, manufacturing or providing potable water for workers wherever we operate.
•Direct operations. The water usage associated with our direct operations is a small piece of our overall water footprint (only about 1% of the water is linked to manufacturing the product). But addressing water usage, quality and availability within our direct operations not only reduces our overall environmental footprint, it also makes good business sense to operate as efficiency and cost effectively as possible. We are committed to measuring and reporting our water footprint on an ongoing basis.
•Measurement. Since 2008, we have been tracking water usage throughout our owned and operated facilities. With that data, we are able to compare within and across regions and facility types and develop targets for water reduction at each facility.
•Tracking supplier usage. In 2009, we began to collect water use data directly from our suppliers, as well as our own operations. Facilitating this data collection effort is our new Social and Environmental Sustainability Information Management System (SESIMS), which allows us to monitor detailed environmental performance at the supplier level.
•Water use in the supply chain. More than 50% of the water associated with our products stems from activities in our supply chain – from cotton production to retail sales. Currently, the supply chain is the primary focus of our water stewardship activities. For example, through the Better Cotton Initiative, we are aiming to help reduce water and pesticide consumption in the cotton industry.
Consumer
In 2007, we performed a lifecycle assessment of our Levi’s® 501 jeans and Dockers® Original Khakis. From growing the cotton that eventually becomes a pair of jeans to recycling those jeans, the impact on water consumption is clear:
•Over 3,000 liters of water are used during the full product lifecycle of a single pair of 501 jeans, from the cotton production and manufacturing process to keeping the jeans clean.
•45% of the water used in the lifecycle of a pair of 501 jeans occurs during the wash-and-dry home care by the customer.
As a result, we have launched a concerted effort to encourage customers to reduce the environmental impact of caring for their clothes by washing their jeans in cold water.
Our partnership with Procter & Gamble’s Tide Coldwater raises awareness about the environmental and economic advantages of washing in cold water.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
A BIT OF HISTORY
As of 2005, Levi Strauss and company had three brands. They are Levis brand, Dockers and the Levi Signature brand. Levis brand had the red tab versions at $35 per pair, Type one at up to $95 and Vintage jeans which sold for up to $220 in upscale stores like Neiman Marcus. ‘A style for every story’ campaign was introduced in 2005 to again build and reinforce awareness of the brand. The Signature brand was reserved for the discount market and was launched in 2003. The line includes denim and non-denim fashion for men, women and children. The jeans were priced from $21-$23 and all products are sold through stores like Wal-mart. 31% of all jeans are purchased at mass retailers and LS&Co. is not prepared to leave those sales on the table. In light of the popularity of the sport within the target market, they recruited Jimmie Johnson, a NASCAR driver to promote this brand. In 2005, Levis also began sponsoring the Soapbox Derby. Levi's ‘Eco"-branded jeans were introduced in 2006, made primarily with organic cotton or recycled denim and distributed in recycled packaging.
In November of 2006, the current president, Anderson took over. He joined the company in 1979 and held positions around the world. His vision was clearly a global one. By 2007, Levis Strauss turned a corner to profitability after nine of the ten previous years had reported declines. Its total annual sales were just over $4 billion ($3 billion less than the peak performance of the mid 1990s). Anderson wanted to balance the struggle between keeping LS&Co. a private global brand with understanding the needs of local consumers. He considered digital marketing to be an exciting tool to accomplish those priorities. He gathered together a team of globally minded people some of whom had experience in apparel and others who had widely diverging experience. For example, he hired Blake Jorgenson of Yahoo as CFO and Jaime Cohen Szluc from Eastman Kodak to head marketing.
For the first two years of his tenure President Anderson worked to take care of the basics at LS&Co. In mid 2008, a new global advertising campaign was unveiled with the ‘Live Life Unbuttoned’ tagline. It focused on the traditional 501s with the button fly and it was the first world wide coordinated advertising campaign. It was very successful in elevating and reinforcing the Levi brand image. The core brand accounted for about 76% of sales in 2008 which translates to approximately $3.27 billion. This represents an increase of about 3% of sales over 2007 and 6% over 2006. The total Levi’s advertising expenditure was $297.9 million worldwide. The message that Anderson took from these stats was that a single global message could drive results and elevate the awareness of the iconic brand.
Even with the global economy on the decline, Anderson chose to take advantage of the company’s size and resources to boost brand image while competitors were doing less advertising. Jaime Cohen Szulic Chief Marketing Officer of Levi’s is embracing mobile media and moving the marketing strategy forward very quickly. The website in Singapore is a good example. He feels that courting the potential for consumers to be advocates and not just loyal is where the future will be made. “If you enact changes for the people, they will carry your brand,” he said. “It’s about moving from loyalty to advocacy. “Brand loyalty is very passive, but brand advocacy is about being active, not passive. .He believes that online advertising should be fun. Levi Strauss & Co. plans to build on traditional advertising campaigns by adding digital channels such as social media and mobile to the mix. At a conference in April of 2010, Szulc, who is also VP of Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco stated that the “important trends that are driving change include faster product lifecycles and challenging macro-economics, as well as the increasingly complex marketing mix. The reason why the Internet and digital channels [such as mobile] are so important, they touch the core of human values—the need to connect, the need to feel loved and the need to feel productive, which can be really difficult to do in real life.”
In November of 2006, the current president, Anderson took over. He joined the company in 1979 and held positions around the world. His vision was clearly a global one. By 2007, Levis Strauss turned a corner to profitability after nine of the ten previous years had reported declines. Its total annual sales were just over $4 billion ($3 billion less than the peak performance of the mid 1990s). Anderson wanted to balance the struggle between keeping LS&Co. a private global brand with understanding the needs of local consumers. He considered digital marketing to be an exciting tool to accomplish those priorities. He gathered together a team of globally minded people some of whom had experience in apparel and others who had widely diverging experience. For example, he hired Blake Jorgenson of Yahoo as CFO and Jaime Cohen Szluc from Eastman Kodak to head marketing.
For the first two years of his tenure President Anderson worked to take care of the basics at LS&Co. In mid 2008, a new global advertising campaign was unveiled with the ‘Live Life Unbuttoned’ tagline. It focused on the traditional 501s with the button fly and it was the first world wide coordinated advertising campaign. It was very successful in elevating and reinforcing the Levi brand image. The core brand accounted for about 76% of sales in 2008 which translates to approximately $3.27 billion. This represents an increase of about 3% of sales over 2007 and 6% over 2006. The total Levi’s advertising expenditure was $297.9 million worldwide. The message that Anderson took from these stats was that a single global message could drive results and elevate the awareness of the iconic brand.
Even with the global economy on the decline, Anderson chose to take advantage of the company’s size and resources to boost brand image while competitors were doing less advertising. Jaime Cohen Szulic Chief Marketing Officer of Levi’s is embracing mobile media and moving the marketing strategy forward very quickly. The website in Singapore is a good example. He feels that courting the potential for consumers to be advocates and not just loyal is where the future will be made. “If you enact changes for the people, they will carry your brand,” he said. “It’s about moving from loyalty to advocacy. “Brand loyalty is very passive, but brand advocacy is about being active, not passive. .He believes that online advertising should be fun. Levi Strauss & Co. plans to build on traditional advertising campaigns by adding digital channels such as social media and mobile to the mix. At a conference in April of 2010, Szulc, who is also VP of Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco stated that the “important trends that are driving change include faster product lifecycles and challenging macro-economics, as well as the increasingly complex marketing mix. The reason why the Internet and digital channels [such as mobile] are so important, they touch the core of human values—the need to connect, the need to feel loved and the need to feel productive, which can be really difficult to do in real life.”
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Levi's Green Initiative
Levi's is asking everyone to submit their 'green' laundry tips to help the environment. Apparently, the most significant impact that the Levi's corporation continues to have on the environment is in after care washing of the jeans. (They have worked hard to decrease their impact in packaging, in transportation and in the farming of the raw cotton.)
Monday, May 17, 2010
Levi's 1950 and beyond
The 1950s brought a whole new representation of Levis into the popular consciousness. Characters like James Dean and Marlon Brando wore jeans in movies like ‘A Rebel Without a Cause’ and ‘The Wild Ones’. Now Levis were the apparel of the young postwar generation called the Baby Boomers. Levi Strauss Company focused exclusively on the jeans business and abandoned the dry goods business in order to keep up with demand. By 1959 Levis sales volume was $46 million dollars with no sign of stopping for the societal changes of the 1960s.
Levis jeans became the symbol of change, freedom, adventure and independence for those coming of age in the 1960s. They were seen as a form of self expression and in home movies of the time you can see that it was the uniform of the day at Woodstock and on university campuses. In 1968, new divisions were started for youth wear, sportswear, women and children. Television became a primary medium of advertising and much of the advertising was aimed a young people and at children.
At the same time Levi Strauss formed an international subsidiary. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Levis doubled in sales every three to four years until it reached $251 million in 1969. This unprecedented expansion required new funds so the company was taken public in 1971 at an initial public offering price of $47.50 per share. By 1975, the company had reached one billion dollars in sales but it did not stop there and reached two billion by 1979. One in every three pairs of jeans sold in North America was Levis.
Levis jeans became the symbol of change, freedom, adventure and independence for those coming of age in the 1960s. They were seen as a form of self expression and in home movies of the time you can see that it was the uniform of the day at Woodstock and on university campuses. In 1968, new divisions were started for youth wear, sportswear, women and children. Television became a primary medium of advertising and much of the advertising was aimed a young people and at children.
At the same time Levi Strauss formed an international subsidiary. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Levis doubled in sales every three to four years until it reached $251 million in 1969. This unprecedented expansion required new funds so the company was taken public in 1971 at an initial public offering price of $47.50 per share. By 1975, the company had reached one billion dollars in sales but it did not stop there and reached two billion by 1979. One in every three pairs of jeans sold in North America was Levis.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Levi's Marketing (From Beginning to 1940)
Levi Strauss had a knack for marketing. He found a need, satisfied it with a quality product, continued to listen to the consumer, adapted where necessary and made sure everyone knew who had made the product. In 1853, he started by having a tailor make ten pairs of pants out of canvas fabric that he had brought west with him for the purpose of making tents. Always adaptable, Levi realized that tents were not in demand but that the miners of the gold rush could not find durable pants. He found and satisfied a need. Everyone called them ‘those pants of Levi’s’ and a legend was born.
Once the canvas was gone, Strauss sought out an even more durable fabric from France called ‘serge de Nimes” which became known as denim. They were dyed the distinctive blue because indigo dye was the cheapest and most permanent die available. They were stitched with a distinctive pattern and the seams were reinforced for durability. In 1872 Strauss funded the patent application for an innovation from one of his subcontracted tailors. Jacob Davis realized that reinforcing certain seams and fabric joints with copper rivets would enable the pants to wear longer and hold up to abuse. Soon this innovation became a selling feature and a method of differentiation. By 1877, Levi Strauss became a charter member of the San Francisco board of Trade. This man knew the value of networking and soon he also took four fatherless nephews into the business.
Levis Strauss gave the jeans the lot number 501 and a less expensive version was dubbed 201 to keep track of the products in the inventory of his dry goods business. In 1886, Levi had his tailors attach a leather patch to the back waste of the jeans which featured the now famous two horses pulling a pair of jeans from either direction to demonstrate their durability. This patch was America’s first apparel trademark and it was done to reinforce the brand because the original patent was set to expire in 1890. Levis continued in business until he died in 1902 at which time he willed his company to four sibling nephews who, like Levi, had lost their own father. I suspect that this infusion of four owners prevented the company from declining as companies often do. It remains a family owned business to this day.
The jeans continued to sell past the turn of the century and in 1910 the new owners of Levi Strauss and Company (LS&Co.) improved the jeans again. The inner seams were felled. This made them even more durable and rip resistant. The new owners had a knack for marketing too and entered the jeans into the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 where they won a “Highest Award”. That same year they switched to denim made in America in North Carolina paving the way for the ‘all American’ reputation which helped to build the brand. The style remained virtually the same since Levi Strauss’ initial design but in 1922 they listened to the customer again and to evolving fashion trends and added belt loops. By 1927 they started using an even heavier weight of fabric. In 1928 Levi’s (the name) was registered as a trademark.
Sales continued to be excellent into the 1930s. At that time there was a new marketing miracle. Western movies became the rage and Levi’s jeans were prominently featured as the apparel of the rugged frontier life.
Movie appearances which featured characters who wore Levi’s jeans would influence more than one generation of Americans. To ward off competitors who were imitating the jeans, Levis began to stitch in a small red tab with the Levis name in capital letters into the side seam of the back pocket on 501 jeans in 1936. Creative marketing was never far from the company’s mind and this proved to be an excellent method for defending sales and the brand. To address complaints about the scratching of furniture and of saddles, the rivets on the back pockets are installed and then covered over by the seams.
The next big event for America and for Levi’s jeans came with WW2. America was building for war and the government declared that Levis jeans were an essential commodity. They were available primarily to defence workers. Rules set by the War Production Board led to the removal of the crotch rivet, the watch pocket rivets and the back cinch in order to save fabric and metal. Decorative stitching was also removed but factory workers actually painted the design onto the pants to continue the distinctive branding. In 1943, the pattern of ‘Arcuate’ stitching was actually registered as a trademark by the company. After the war the features of the jeans were restored and soon a zippered version was added to meet ‘eastern’ demand and the red tab was now stitched with Levis on both the exposed and the interior facing side.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Aaker's Brand Personality Scale for Levi's
According to Aaker’s Brand Personality Scale (Keller, P 371) Levis has the following Personality Ratings (other companies are included for comparison):
Levi’s Lee Nike Apple
Sincerity 1.20 1.14 .98 .92
Excitement 1.11 1.00 1.17 .95
Competence 1.05 .99 1.03 1.07
Sophistication 1.13 1.09 1.05 .86
Ruggedness 1.43 1.34 1.36 .92
This represent a very solid reputation and a high level of regard by the public that Levi’s has built through experience and advertising. Of the 37 companies in the chart in the textbook no company score higher than the ruggedness indicator for Levi’s nor did any other score as highly overall. This is an important asset and they must be kept in mind for marketing decisions.
Levi’s Lee Nike Apple
Sincerity 1.20 1.14 .98 .92
Excitement 1.11 1.00 1.17 .95
Competence 1.05 .99 1.03 1.07
Sophistication 1.13 1.09 1.05 .86
Ruggedness 1.43 1.34 1.36 .92
This represent a very solid reputation and a high level of regard by the public that Levi’s has built through experience and advertising. Of the 37 companies in the chart in the textbook no company score higher than the ruggedness indicator for Levi’s nor did any other score as highly overall. This is an important asset and they must be kept in mind for marketing decisions.
A Legend in Marketing
Levi Strauss and Company: Critical Analysis of Marketing
Part One
Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO.) a top manufacturer of brand-name clothing globally, sells jeans and sportswear under the Levi's, Dockers, and Levi Strauss Signature names in more than 110 countries. It also markets men's and women's underwear and loungewear. The company has demonstrated considerable but not always consistent brilliance in marketing. Levi Strauss, the founder, established the ‘red tab’ and the leather patch on the back of the pants so that every pair of pants on every working man told another who made them. Over a hundred years later, the company is still going strong and the Levi’s name has strong brand equity because of iconic cultural associations and the excellent use of media advertising. The Levi’s name is memorable, meaningful to many, adaptable in new countries and to new demographic segments and quite likeable. Most of the attributes of the jeans are protectable through diligent protection of trademarks. The brand has struggled at times to be transferable to other products but it has a fair degree of transferability to other countries. Levi’s jeans have the brand equity that is necessary to elevate an easily reproducible product to the status of a legend.
Levi’s brand symbols are easily recognizable. The red tab, the 501 name, and the ‘leather’ patch on the back of the jeans are all ingrained into our minds (at least if you are a baby boomer like me). The Dockers brand has a recognizable symbol and its advertising was more successful in the past than it is at this time. The Signature brand is Levi’s lower end brand which is sold in retail chain stores. It too is recognizable to many but has never had the advertising support in North America that it is enjoying in India where it is far more recognizable.
Part One
Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO.) a top manufacturer of brand-name clothing globally, sells jeans and sportswear under the Levi's, Dockers, and Levi Strauss Signature names in more than 110 countries. It also markets men's and women's underwear and loungewear. The company has demonstrated considerable but not always consistent brilliance in marketing. Levi Strauss, the founder, established the ‘red tab’ and the leather patch on the back of the pants so that every pair of pants on every working man told another who made them. Over a hundred years later, the company is still going strong and the Levi’s name has strong brand equity because of iconic cultural associations and the excellent use of media advertising. The Levi’s name is memorable, meaningful to many, adaptable in new countries and to new demographic segments and quite likeable. Most of the attributes of the jeans are protectable through diligent protection of trademarks. The brand has struggled at times to be transferable to other products but it has a fair degree of transferability to other countries. Levi’s jeans have the brand equity that is necessary to elevate an easily reproducible product to the status of a legend.
Levi’s brand symbols are easily recognizable. The red tab, the 501 name, and the ‘leather’ patch on the back of the jeans are all ingrained into our minds (at least if you are a baby boomer like me). The Dockers brand has a recognizable symbol and its advertising was more successful in the past than it is at this time. The Signature brand is Levi’s lower end brand which is sold in retail chain stores. It too is recognizable to many but has never had the advertising support in North America that it is enjoying in India where it is far more recognizable.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Levi Straus Europe, Middle East and North Africa
Countries
LSEMA markets and sells products in the following countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Northern Cyprus, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, The Republic of Macedonia, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan.
LSEMA markets and sells products in the following countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Northern Cyprus, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, The Republic of Macedonia, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
In Their Own Words.....
Business Strategy
" We have changed virtually every aspect of the business, including the entire process of how we develop, deliver and market products. The initiatives include:
• Revamping our core Levi's® and Dockers® product lines to make our products more innovative, market-relevant and appealing to consumers.
• Improving our speed to market and responsiveness to changing consumer preferences.
• Launching the Levi Strauss Signature® brand for value-conscious consumers in North America and Asia.
• Expanding our licensing programs to offer more products that complement our core brand product ranges.
• Improving the economics of our Levi's® and Dockers® brands for retail customers.
• Strengthening our management team and attracting top talent to key positions around the world.
• Enhancing our global sourcing and product innovation capabilities.
• Reducing our cost of goods and operating expenses.
• Implementing a new business planning and performance model that clarifies roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and improves our operational effectiveness.
" We have changed virtually every aspect of the business, including the entire process of how we develop, deliver and market products. The initiatives include:
• Revamping our core Levi's® and Dockers® product lines to make our products more innovative, market-relevant and appealing to consumers.
• Improving our speed to market and responsiveness to changing consumer preferences.
• Launching the Levi Strauss Signature® brand for value-conscious consumers in North America and Asia.
• Expanding our licensing programs to offer more products that complement our core brand product ranges.
• Improving the economics of our Levi's® and Dockers® brands for retail customers.
• Strengthening our management team and attracting top talent to key positions around the world.
• Enhancing our global sourcing and product innovation capabilities.
• Reducing our cost of goods and operating expenses.
• Implementing a new business planning and performance model that clarifies roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and improves our operational effectiveness.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Levi's Chief Marketing Officer discusses Media Strategy
Jaime Cohen-Szlac discusses media strategy with an interviewer (please be patient with the introduction).
2009 Financials
Products/Operations
2009 Sales $ mil. % of total
Americas 2,357.7 58
Europe 1,042.1 25
Asia/Pacific 706.0 17
Total 4,105.8 100
2009 Sales% o f total
Levi's brand 79
Dockers brand 16
Levi Strauss Signature brand 5
Total 100
2009 Sales $ mil. % of total
Americas 2,357.7 58
Europe 1,042.1 25
Asia/Pacific 706.0 17
Total 4,105.8 100
2009 Sales% o f total
Levi's brand 79
Dockers brand 16
Levi Strauss Signature brand 5
Total 100
Levi Strauss and Co. Contact Information
Levi Strauss & Co.
1155 Battery St.
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: 415-501-6000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 415-501-6000 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: 415-501-7112
Toll Free: 800-872-5384 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-872-5384 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
http://www.levistrauss.com/
1155 Battery St.
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: 415-501-6000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 415-501-6000 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: 415-501-7112
Toll Free: 800-872-5384 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-872-5384 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
http://www.levistrauss.com/
The Blacker side of the Blues or the Seamier Side of the Jeans Manufacturer
In the late 1980s Levi Strauss and company was involved in a scandal concerning Tan Holdings Corporation, a subcontractor in the Marianas, an American protectorate. Even though the company claimed no knowledge of the conditions under which the employees labored which involved seven day work weeks, twelve hour shifts, merger wages and poor living conditions, they were fined $9 million – the largest fine ever in the US labor history to that point. The company instituted fair labor practices policies and has been a model citizen ever since. It now has inspection practices for all offshore facilities.
The company has been embroiled in protests and hunger strikes when it closed plants in San Antonio in January 1990 and an activist group called Fuerza Unida formed to fight the policies.
The company took on multi-billion dollar debt in February 1996 to help finance a series of leveraged stock buyouts among family members. Shares in Levi Strauss stock are not publicly traded; the firm is today owned almost entirely by indirect descendants and relatives of Levi Strauss, whose four nephews inherited the San Francisco dry goods firm after their uncle's death in 1902. The corporation's bonds are traded publicly, as are shares of the company's Japanese affiliate, Levi Strauss Japan K.K. In June 1996, the company offered to pay its workers an unusual dividend of up to $750 million in six years' time, having halted an employee stock plan at the time of the internal family buyout. However, the company failed to make cash flow targets, and no worker dividends were paid.
According to the New York Times Levi Strauss leads the apparel industry in trademark infringement cases, filing nearly 100 lawsuits against competitors since 2001. Most cases center on the alleged imitation of Levi's back pocket double arc stitching pattern (U.S. trademark #1,139,254). Levi's has sued Guess?, Esprit Holdings, Zegma Zumiez and Lucky Brand Jeans among other companies.
The company has been embroiled in protests and hunger strikes when it closed plants in San Antonio in January 1990 and an activist group called Fuerza Unida formed to fight the policies.
The company took on multi-billion dollar debt in February 1996 to help finance a series of leveraged stock buyouts among family members. Shares in Levi Strauss stock are not publicly traded; the firm is today owned almost entirely by indirect descendants and relatives of Levi Strauss, whose four nephews inherited the San Francisco dry goods firm after their uncle's death in 1902. The corporation's bonds are traded publicly, as are shares of the company's Japanese affiliate, Levi Strauss Japan K.K. In June 1996, the company offered to pay its workers an unusual dividend of up to $750 million in six years' time, having halted an employee stock plan at the time of the internal family buyout. However, the company failed to make cash flow targets, and no worker dividends were paid.
According to the New York Times Levi Strauss leads the apparel industry in trademark infringement cases, filing nearly 100 lawsuits against competitors since 2001. Most cases center on the alleged imitation of Levi's back pocket double arc stitching pattern (U.S. trademark #1,139,254). Levi's has sued Guess?, Esprit Holdings, Zegma Zumiez and Lucky Brand Jeans among other companies.
Selected Brand Names
Selected Brand Names
• Dockers
• Dockers for Men
• Dockers for Women
• Levi's
• Levi's 501
• Levi's 505
• Levi's Blue
• Levi's Capital E
• Levi's Red Tab
• Levi's Silvertab
• Levi's Vintage
• Signature by Levis Strauss & Co.
• Dockers
• Dockers for Men
• Dockers for Women
• Levi's
• Levi's 501
• Levi's 505
• Levi's Blue
• Levi's Capital E
• Levi's Red Tab
• Levi's Silvertab
• Levi's Vintage
• Signature by Levis Strauss & Co.
What follows is a roughly chronological series of Levi's and Dockers pant commercials starting with retrospective ads. The stills are not in chronological order but rather may illustrate the point of the commercials or the trends in the advertising. I hope that you will notice the trends, the edginess of the commercials for their time. Having lived through many of these decades, I remember the progression and it was verging on scandalous for some of the more conservative parts of North America. Men in underwear on TV! Shocking!
Levi's led the way with this sort of advertising and endeared themselves over and over again with each new crop of 14-25 year olds.
I hope you enjoy this presentation of Levi's and Dockers in advertising!
Levi's led the way with this sort of advertising and endeared themselves over and over again with each new crop of 14-25 year olds.
I hope you enjoy this presentation of Levi's and Dockers in advertising!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Levi's Brand Endures
The Levi’s brand endures. The product is synonymous with quality. Equally important, its marketing campaigns (most notably its television advertising) which have successfully taken mass-produced jeans and imbued them with the values: of originality, of individuality, and of nonconformity. Steve Goldstein, VP-marketing and research for Levi’s said in a recent ad column in The New York Times: “Every rip has a story. That’s why the advertising has been much more about the wearer than the product.”
The brand has endured because Levi’s always finds ways to package these values to appeal to a fresh generation of teenagers. The Art Directors Club of New York awarded the company its Management Award for achievement in brand advertising and design communications and held a retrospective exhibit of the 150 year-old company that included television and print advertisements, testimonial letters written by customers (including one from a man claiming his Levi’s shirt saved his life) to the world’s oldest pair of Levi’s jeans (circa 1886-1902). Levi-Strauss was chosen for the award because its products, most notably the blue jeans, are so much a part of Americana, says ADC director Myrna Davis. “It’s a very satisfying product,” she remarks. “There is almost no other that is so pervasive and has such strong graphic imagery. It’s also very democratic--rich and poor people alike wear them.”
The Levi’s exhibit attracted a record 2,000 visitors in its two week run. The centerpiece was a long display case that showed Levi’s wares chronologically, from 1920s “waist overalls” to Jell-O colored jeans of the novelty-loving 1970s to a pair just purchased. Framed boxes on the wall provided a concurrent timeline of American history from the California Gold Rush to current events (the exhibit will soon be on permanent display at Levi’s headquarters in San Francisco). But the most captivating aspect was a darkened corner of monitors showing television advertising campaigns created over the past 30 years by Foote Cone & Belding in San Francisco, which, with one predecessor, has handled the account for 67 years.
Since 1984, Levi’s has created image-based campaigns that emphasize a brand of hip, street-smart, urbane sensibility; previous efforts focused more on specific product attributes and brand heritage. That year brought the celebrated “501 Blues” campaign, which featured grainy quick-cut urban vignettes set to spirit-soaring scores by blues singers, a capella quartets and the Boys Choir of Harlem. In 1988, witty, irreverent and frenetic Spike Lee spots appeared for the button-fly jeans featuring “real people” such as guys from Brooklyn who talk backwards for fun, and a talented young drummer who jams on plastic buckets on street corners. The theme: “Is your fly buttoned?”
In the 1990s, photographer and director Bruce Weber created style statements in a campaign for loose fitting jeans that captured godlike, stoic men poised against stark backgrounds in a photographic tableau, or in other spots, beautiful bodies leaping mid-air, celebrating the human form and the freedom offered by a loose fit. Humor returned in a 1996 campaign for wide leg pants in, for example, director Spike Jonz’s spot featuring an emergency room where the medical team breaks into the Soft Cell hit “Tainted Love” to the rhythm of an electronic heart monitor.
This year, Levi’s has further reinvented itself with its most elliptical and inscrutable (and therefore irresistible) campaign to date. A related series of ads themed “they go on” and shot by music video director Tarsem, they are a stream-of-consciousness serial of overlapping characters in disjointed and illogical sequences and relationships. Characters always seem to defy expectations, including a hip-hop DJ playing drum and bass music in cowboy country; a Grandma with spiked hair; a guy taking his Gremlin through a car wash with the windows down. There is no logical narrative, yet there are just enough connections, cameos (Lenny Kravitz, Quinten Crisp) and musical styles to make the concept compelling.
This campaign, which itself refuses to conform to viewer expectations of primetime television advertising, would seem to be the perfect approach to appeal to today’s youth, purported to be so jaded by traditional advertising that they are practically unreachable. The series appears to be a shoo-in for a Gold Pencil, but such a victory would be bitter-sweet indeed. In January, following an account review that shocked the ad community, Levi’s dropped FCB and awarded the estimated $90 million account to TBWA/Chiat/Day. Levi’s, whose declining sales recently caused the company to close plants and lay off workers, seemed to be following an industry pattern where long-term client/agency relationships are driven on the rocks by increased competition. Now that the creatively lauded new agency inherited the coveted account, it has also inherited the impassioned loyalty of generations of consumers, and the potential of a new market of youths. Any future campaigns will still need to tap into the brand’s authenticity and emotional pull. As the tagline says in a 1979 commercial, “fashions may change, but quality never goes out of style.” Or as in the current campaign, like my 20-year-old jeans attest, “they go on.”
The brand has endured because Levi’s always finds ways to package these values to appeal to a fresh generation of teenagers. The Art Directors Club of New York awarded the company its Management Award for achievement in brand advertising and design communications and held a retrospective exhibit of the 150 year-old company that included television and print advertisements, testimonial letters written by customers (including one from a man claiming his Levi’s shirt saved his life) to the world’s oldest pair of Levi’s jeans (circa 1886-1902). Levi-Strauss was chosen for the award because its products, most notably the blue jeans, are so much a part of Americana, says ADC director Myrna Davis. “It’s a very satisfying product,” she remarks. “There is almost no other that is so pervasive and has such strong graphic imagery. It’s also very democratic--rich and poor people alike wear them.”
The Levi’s exhibit attracted a record 2,000 visitors in its two week run. The centerpiece was a long display case that showed Levi’s wares chronologically, from 1920s “waist overalls” to Jell-O colored jeans of the novelty-loving 1970s to a pair just purchased. Framed boxes on the wall provided a concurrent timeline of American history from the California Gold Rush to current events (the exhibit will soon be on permanent display at Levi’s headquarters in San Francisco). But the most captivating aspect was a darkened corner of monitors showing television advertising campaigns created over the past 30 years by Foote Cone & Belding in San Francisco, which, with one predecessor, has handled the account for 67 years.
Since 1984, Levi’s has created image-based campaigns that emphasize a brand of hip, street-smart, urbane sensibility; previous efforts focused more on specific product attributes and brand heritage. That year brought the celebrated “501 Blues” campaign, which featured grainy quick-cut urban vignettes set to spirit-soaring scores by blues singers, a capella quartets and the Boys Choir of Harlem. In 1988, witty, irreverent and frenetic Spike Lee spots appeared for the button-fly jeans featuring “real people” such as guys from Brooklyn who talk backwards for fun, and a talented young drummer who jams on plastic buckets on street corners. The theme: “Is your fly buttoned?”
In the 1990s, photographer and director Bruce Weber created style statements in a campaign for loose fitting jeans that captured godlike, stoic men poised against stark backgrounds in a photographic tableau, or in other spots, beautiful bodies leaping mid-air, celebrating the human form and the freedom offered by a loose fit. Humor returned in a 1996 campaign for wide leg pants in, for example, director Spike Jonz’s spot featuring an emergency room where the medical team breaks into the Soft Cell hit “Tainted Love” to the rhythm of an electronic heart monitor.
This year, Levi’s has further reinvented itself with its most elliptical and inscrutable (and therefore irresistible) campaign to date. A related series of ads themed “they go on” and shot by music video director Tarsem, they are a stream-of-consciousness serial of overlapping characters in disjointed and illogical sequences and relationships. Characters always seem to defy expectations, including a hip-hop DJ playing drum and bass music in cowboy country; a Grandma with spiked hair; a guy taking his Gremlin through a car wash with the windows down. There is no logical narrative, yet there are just enough connections, cameos (Lenny Kravitz, Quinten Crisp) and musical styles to make the concept compelling.
This campaign, which itself refuses to conform to viewer expectations of primetime television advertising, would seem to be the perfect approach to appeal to today’s youth, purported to be so jaded by traditional advertising that they are practically unreachable. The series appears to be a shoo-in for a Gold Pencil, but such a victory would be bitter-sweet indeed. In January, following an account review that shocked the ad community, Levi’s dropped FCB and awarded the estimated $90 million account to TBWA/Chiat/Day. Levi’s, whose declining sales recently caused the company to close plants and lay off workers, seemed to be following an industry pattern where long-term client/agency relationships are driven on the rocks by increased competition. Now that the creatively lauded new agency inherited the coveted account, it has also inherited the impassioned loyalty of generations of consumers, and the potential of a new market of youths. Any future campaigns will still need to tap into the brand’s authenticity and emotional pull. As the tagline says in a 1979 commercial, “fashions may change, but quality never goes out of style.” Or as in the current campaign, like my 20-year-old jeans attest, “they go on.”
1960s
1960s Jeans Documentary Youtube on the attributes of Levi’s Jeans
Songs re-popularised by Levi's commercials
Song title Artist Original recording Year of Levi's advert UK chart US chart
"When a Man Loves a Woman"
Percy Sledge
1966
1987
2
"Wonderful World"
Sam Cooke
1960
1986
2
"C'mon Everybody"
Eddie Cochran
1958
1988
14
"The Joker"
Steve Miller Band
1973
1990
1
"Mad about the Boy"
Dinah Washington
1952
1992
"Inside"
Stiltskin
1995
1
"Boombastic"
Shaggy
1995
1
"Spaceman"
Babylon Zoo
1996
1
"Flat Beat"
Mr. Oizo
1999
1
1966
501s
1960s Jeans Documentary Youtube on the attributes of Levi’s Jeans
Songs re-popularised by Levi's commercials
Song title Artist Original recording Year of Levi's advert UK chart US chart
"When a Man Loves a Woman"
Percy Sledge
1966
1987
2
"Wonderful World"
Sam Cooke
1960
1986
2
"C'mon Everybody"
Eddie Cochran
1958
1988
14
"The Joker"
Steve Miller Band
1973
1990
1
"Mad about the Boy"
Dinah Washington
1952
1992
"Inside"
Stiltskin
1995
1
"Boombastic"
Shaggy
1995
1
"Spaceman"
Babylon Zoo
1996
1
"Flat Beat"
Mr. Oizo
1999
1
1966
501s
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