Revival of Levi’s Brand

EMBS MARKETING PROJECT

Summar Waheed 2023 04 0010| Marketing Management | 12.06.2021

Company: Levi Strauss & Co.
Contents
Contents.........................................................................................................................................1
Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
Challenges Faced by Mr. Chip Bergh after starting his new role................................................3
First Year marketing plan...........................................................................................................3
Target Market.............................................................................................................................4
Product Positioning.....................................................................................................................5
Competitors................................................................................................................................5
Levi’s Marketing Strategy............................................................................................................6
Levis Product Strategy:..............................................................................................................6
Levi’s Price Strategy...................................................................................................................7
Levis Place strategy....................................................................................................................7
Levi’s Promotion strategy...........................................................................................................7
Levi’s Marketing Budget............................................................................................................8
Digital Marketing Presence of Levi’s..........................................................................................8
Levi’s social media activities:.....................................................................................................9
Wrangler.......................................................................................................................................9
Wrangler product strategy..........................................................................................................9
Wrangler pricing strategy:..........................................................................................................9
Wrangler distribution strategy:..................................................................................................10
Wrangler promotional and advertising strategy:........................................................................10
LEE................................................................................................................................................10
Lee Product Strategy:................................................................................................................10
Lee Price Strategy:.....................................................................................................................11
Lee Place & Distribution Strategy:.............................................................................................11
Lee Promotion & Advertising Strategy:.....................................................................................11
The three big US denim brands comparison............................................................................12

PAGE 1
 Levi’s vs Wrangler....................................................................................................................12
Levi’s vs Wrangler websites popularity.....................................................................................13
Levi’s vs Lee Jeans...................................................................................................................14
Competitive advantages of Levi’s.......................................................................................14
Competitive disadvantages of Levi’s..................................................................................14
Exhibit 1........................................................................................................................................16
Exhibit 2.......................................................................................................................................16
Exhibit 3.......................................................................................................................................17
Exhibit 4.......................................................................................................................................18
Exhibit 5 a....................................................................................................................................19
Exhibit 5 b....................................................................................................................................19
Exhibit 5 c....................................................................................................................................20
Exhibit 6.......................................................................................................................................21
Exhibit 7.......................................................................................................................................21
Exhibit 8......................................................................................................................................22
Exhibit 9......................................................................................................................................22
Exhibit 10 a..................................................................................................................................23
Exhibit 10 b..................................................................................................................................23
Exhibit 10 c..................................................................................................................................24

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Introduction

Levi Strauss & Co. is the most renowned denim jeans brand in the world. It operates in
more than 110 countries with 2800+ companies operated stores worldwide. Founder Mr.
Levi Strauss started the business in 1853 in San Francisco and entered the revolutionary
jeans market in 1873.

In 168 year-history, company has achieved many milestones. However, from 1990-2010
(Exhibit 1), company was struggling in its marketing and financial strategy.

In 2011 Mr. Chip Berg took over company as CEO. Previously he was serving Procter &
Gamble as Group President. A lot was required to be done by new CEO for overcoming
financial and marketing challenges of company.

CHALLENGES FACED BY MR. CHIP BERGH AFTER STARTING HIS NEW ROLE
The main challenge was of competition. In the same decade many other denim brands
were having upward sales trends. Specially Kontoor Brands (VF Corp.), that has recently
acquired Wrangle and Lee denim brands. It was emerging as main competitor of Levi’s.

Second challenge was deteriorated condition of company. In the last decade, the
company’s financial performance was highly inconsistent. He was misinformed about
company’s financial position and ability. The sales trend was dropped from 4.75 billion
USD to as low as 4.3 billion USD in last 2 decades.

FIRST YEAR MARKETING PLAN

Chip knew that success of a brand is measured by the strength of the annual marketing
plan it has put in place. It gives a road map that is followed by company.

So, a new marketing plan was put in place. It started with Market Research for the first 3
months. It invested resources to research different aspects of global denim market.
Products that were not doing very well were analyzed for reasons. Also, different

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strategies were assessed for improvement in low performing locations. Plans for
expanding market shares and achieving competitive edge were designed.

In next three months, marketing goals were started to be set. Priorities were decided for
execution of plans for achieving objectives. The original selling proposition “Live in
Levi’s” of brand was reinvented for coping with emerging competitors. Now goals for
targeting new customer were set to increase market share. It had to expand itself in
national and international market. Furthermore, new distribution channels were started to
be analyzed, that were being adopted by other apparel brands like Nike and Adidas.

Next half of year was for implementation of strategies developed from set goals. These
were carefully applied according to set priorities.
In the end, management sit back and started accessing, if strategies applied were working
out.

TARGET MARKET
Segmentation of Levi target market is done according to gender, age, income, social
class and occupation. Levi’s apparel products are for both genders. Jeans, Shorts, T Shirts
and other variety of products are produced by manufacturer for both men and women.

Innovative women’s jeans brands are always brought by company. Recently, the
company has introduced Levi’s Curve ID for women. The Curve ID included three
different fits for ladies. These are the slight curve, demi curve, and a bold curve. It
suggests that the company can serve all ladies segment irrespective of their body figures.

Levi’s mainly targets high income consumers. The company’s products are relatively
expensive. Hence, most mid and low-income consumers cannot afford them. Despite
concentrating primarily on the high-income consumers, Levi’s does not neglect the mid
income segment. Company’s markets its products at differentiated prices to cater for the
mid income consumers.

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Company divides its market according to age. Currently, the company targets children,
teenagers and adults. The accomplishment of company lies in its capability to target a
wide-ranging market segment. Levi’s cannot lack customers. Levi’s biggest portion of
the market covers the youths. Mostly teenagers purchase the Levi’s 514 slim straight
denim, 569 loose fit denim and 501 original denim.

Individuals have dissimilar values and behaviors. Also, individuals observe diverse
lifestyles. So, it’s imperative not to generalize target market. Levi’s segments its market
with reference to lifestyle.

 PRODUCT POSITIONING
In past, Levi’s was positioned as a sign for independent life. The brand associated largely
by cowboys who were recognized for a free life.

Also, the brand positioned its products as suitable to casual wear. Later, in the era of
Baby Boomers, the brand positioned its products as “cool”. With time, the brand moved
from positioning its products as cool to sign of teenage and revolution.

In the United States, the brand positions its products as low-priced and appropriate for
casual wear.

COMPETITORS
Levi’s faces strong competition from rival denim jeans brands. The brand’s main
competitors include Wrangle, Lee, Diesel, Pepe Jeans, and Guess. The new competitors
led to the end of an era of domination for Levi’s. The rival brands came up with
competitive prices that led to Levi’s losing consumers. Besides, competition dropped
Levi’s profit margin. Companies like Wrangler and Lee got merged recently under
Kontoor Brands (VF Corp.) and emerged as largest competitors of Levi’s.

This case is focused on marketing strategy comparison of Levi’s Vs Wrangler and Lee;
US second and third most liked Denim Jeans Brands. Parent brand of Wrangler and Lee
is Kontoor Brands(VF Corp.) In Denim Jeans, GAP is fourth most like brand by US.

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 Levi’s Marketing Strategy
The marketing mix is used by a brand to inspire consumers to purchase their products.
 

LEVIS PRODUCT STRATEGY:

The Levi’s has enormous popularity owing to the consumers loyalty related with wearing
Levi’s jeans. Consumers who get familiar with the brand, do not shift from it because of
its immense comfort and classy design. A typical Levi’s jeans pair requires huge
manufacturing skill that is evident from the fact that almost 33 steps are required in
process of its manufacturing. The Levi’s jeans offer durability and innovative design. The
most famous product in its product line is the blue classic jeans, yet the other color
variants got popularity over the years. These colors include khaki, grey, green, black to
name a few. The brand has a diversified collection of products;

 Pants & shorts

 Shirts 
 T-shirts & Polos
 Sweaters & Sweatshirts
 Jackets
 For women: blue denim skirts
 Hats 
 Accessories like belts, bags & backpacks, footwear, and Face masks for Covid.
 Sandals & Slippers

There are variety of fits in jeans: Skinny, Taper, Slim, Relaxed, Boot cut, Big and Tall
and Flare. Uniqueness of Levi’s jeans is that a unique 3-digit number is associated with
every pair. Numbers are like 501s, that are available for men and women both. 500 series
are for men, 300,400, 700 and 800 series are for women. Levi’s brand is divided into sub-
brands within its parent brand. These include Levi’s Strauss & Co., Dockers, Signature,
Denizen and Beyond Yoga.

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 LEVI’S PRICE STRATEGY

As an established player, Levi’s has a policy of maintaining standard fixed prices across
the globe.

Price of Levi’s jeans is mainly influenced by different factors. Include cost of the
product, demand of the product, affordability of target customer, innovative features and
uniqueness that it offers.

Levi’s never compromise with its quality, So, pricing is confident enough all because of
its solid loyal customers base.  

LEVIS PLACE STRATEGY 

In the start Levi’s was having factory as distribution channel, now has reached online
web presence. The company was started in San Francisco and now operates in almost all
countries of the world. It is having organized distribution channels that reaches out every
segment and age group of consumers. Distribution channel of Levi’s includes:
 Franchises
 Brand Retail Stores
 Warehouses in every country 
 Levi’s official website
 Online ecommerce portals

LEVI’S PROMOTION STRATEGY
Promotional strategies of Levi’s are unique and cool enough to attract youth. The brand’s
“Be Yourself” campaign gained huge acceptance. The brand has also promoted itself in
Europe through exhibitions organized by the company. Between 2002 and 2006, Levi’s
introduced a special range of jeans- Signature for Walmart stores. Recently, a new
waterless technology was introduced as part of promotional activities for the company.
These products use significantly less water during manufacturing hence, projected to be
environment friendly. Company works in association with the Red Tab Foundation that
works to deliver financial safety for company employees, retired employees and their

PAGE 7
 families. Levi’s promotes itself with the help of different celebrities in different countries.
Medium of Levi’s advertisement include:
 Televisions
 Internet
 Magazines of fashion 
 Banners and billboards
 Newspaper etc.
Other promotional launches:
 Reversible Jeans 
 Waterless technology 
 High loose range of fits for a comfy life 
 Women’s fits to make a style statement

Levi’s through its massive promotional skills, comes to a step ahead of competitors.

LEVI’S MARKETING BUDGET

According to recent marketing strategy, brand will mainly focus spending on the digital
approach because the company’s advertising and promotion expenses were mainly spent
on retailers which results in increase of the company’s marketing budget. 
Levi’s marketing budget plan:
 Review was conducted for hiring of strategic and cost-effective retailers. 
 Digital brand strategy and 3 years budgets were developed.
 Adding new channels for online sales 

Digital Marketing Presence of Levi’s  

In modern era digital marketing comes out to be a dynamic part of the research and
development of a brand. With digital presence helps in direct communication with
consumers. An effective digital marketing strategy is important to increase company
awareness among consumers. A company that has an active digital presence is market
leader of the current time. 

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 LEVI’S SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES:
 Global cause posts
 New launch/trends information
 Yearly accomplishments recently celebrated 501 Day
 Panel discussions
 Insights and Job vacancies
 Updates of Youth achievements
 
The world is switching to digital channels due to current circumstances, having an
influential digital presence is imperative for Levi’s.

Wrangler
Wrangler marketing strategy helps the brand/company to position itself competitively in
the market and achieve its business goals & objectives.

WRANGLER PRODUCT STRATEGY

The Brand offers different lines of apparels and accessories, these include jeans, shirts,
jackets, shorts, belts and eyewear’s. The customs of Wrangler associate the brand with
rough and tough clothing suitable for daily work and wear including wear and tear. The
company produces for Men, Women and Kids and the most famous jeans styles
containing Cowboy, RIGGS Wrangler, Wrangler 1947, Wrangler Rugged Wear and
Wrangler Retro.

WRANGLER PRICING STRATEGY:

Wrangler has a very competitive pricing as fight its competition.

A typical Wrangler jean starts from as low as $20 for the basic and extends up to $300 for
the newest ones. Its target market is working class and provides clean cut looking
apparels made for ruggedness and durability.

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WRANGLER DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY:

Wrangler is originally an American brand and is retailed worldwide. The stores are in
downtown zones of the cities and metros. The company emphases more on standalone
stores inside malls and in prime locations. The Wrangler also has ecommerce focus and
the website has links for direct access to the partner ecommerce websites like Amazon,
Myntra, Jabong, Flipkart and Paytm Mall.

WRANGLER PROMOTIONAL AND ADVERTISING STRATEGY:

Brand’s promotion has a strong and quite exciting history with the starting promotion
campaigns dating back to 1947. The company has a certain brand loyalty for the
workwear and folks want to Wrangler for it. The brand has an annual campaign named
True Wanderer, in which riders showcase their adventure and exploration spirit. The
company has substantial social media presence with dedicated Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook page handle through which the company keeps informing its customs about the
trends in the apparel industry and Wrangler Jeans Co.

LEE
Another Levi’s Competitor, Lee jeans has a huge following because of their high levels
of craftsmanship, comfort and style – all for a quite reasonable price.

LEE PRODUCT STRATEGY:

Union-All jumpsuit of LEE was introduced in 1913. It was for the mechanics, farmers
and railroad workers and was accepted very well. Due to its success, LEE was able to
open several manufacturing plans in just 4 years. New fabrics and designs were
introduced throughout in1920s. Zip front overalls were introduced and along with
tailored fitted denims. In 1944, LEE launched its cowboy jeans as ‘LEE Rider’. Lady
LEE Riders was launched in 1949 and was promoted as the ‘best fitting jeans ‘for ladies.
Through introduction of new products, LEE became no.1 brand of Work Class. Reason

PAGE 10
for LEE’s success was to understand consumer needs and designing of outfits according
to these. From 1970 LEE entered Style and fashion areas in addition to works outfit. LEE
is now all about style, quality, fitting and choices. Entire product portfolio of LEE
includes; Jeans, shorts, pants, shirts, capris, skirts, jackets, dresses, accessories etc. The
product lines are for men, women and kids as well.

LEE PRICE STRATEGY:

LEE furnishes the need of the upper-middle class segment of the market who wants to
look stylish and fashionable with compatively economical purchasing. There are players
like Levi’s, Wrangler providing almost similar product, LEE comes up with a
competitive pricing strategy. It helped LEE to retain its market share despite intense
competition.

LEE PLACE & DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY:

Production of LEE brand is now done in China. That’s why it is having good numbers in
Asia-Pacific region. LEE brand products are sold through department stores in the U.S.,
and through www.LEE.com channel. Outside the U.S, products are sold through retail
stores

For local consumers LEE has made its existence in e-commerce as well with country
specific sites in Asia and Europe.

LEE PROMOTION & ADVERTISING STRATEGY:

Brand Lee has believed in promotion since the beginning. When the LEE moved from
work clothes to Styling and Fashion, the brand included celebrities like Bing Crosby and
Marilyn Monroe to promote LEE worldwide. For promotion television advertisements,
magazines and print media also were used. In 1996, LEE National Denim Day was
started. It was a social cause, more than a promotional approach. The main idea was to
raise fund for breast cancer. LEE was related to social cause, so, got appreciated by

PAGE 11
people. The brand also has its digital occurrence in terms of official Facebook page,
YouTube channel, Instagram and twitter handles.

The three big US denim brands comparison

Levi’s, Wrangler, and Lee denims are some of the most popular brands in world. Jeans
manufactured by Levi’s, Wrangler, and Lee are the most durable that can be found, and
these are also famous for fit properly. These qualities make them extremely valuable.

Levi’s jeans are a little softer than Wrangler jeans. In US their prices are comparable, but
Levi’s jeans are further expensive outside the US where these are considered as luxury
jeans.

Levi’s and Lee jeans are similar. However, Lee jeans are considered relatively trendier
and an improved choice for the youth. Both Levi’s and Lee have reasonable price in
cotton and cotton-elastic fabrics jeans.

LEVI’S VS WRANGLER
Google statistics indicates popularity peaks of brands in last 10 years. Here are online
search trends graphs for 2 denim brands.

Levi’s popularity over the past 10 years (2010 and 2021)

 Trend started to rise from 2015

 A full 100% popularity interest in 2018
 Covid 19 resulted in chaotic trend 2020
Wrangler popularity over the past 10 years (2010 and 2021)

 Trend is upward since 2010

 A full 100% popularity interest in 2019

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  There is high seasonality in interest due Christmas
 Covid 19 resulted in chaotic trend 2020

This data indicates Wrangler jeans are more popular than Levi’s, at least in the busiest
purchasing period of the year.

LEVI’S VS WRANGLER WEBSITES POPULARITY

Official number of 2.5 million average monthly visitors on levis.com. Which becomes
around the 7-8 million traffic.

Officially there are 350.000 monthly visitors on wrangler.com. Which becomes around 1
million monthly visitors on average.

Levi’s website is a few times more popular in comparison with Wrangler website.

Levi’s and Wrangler both share a good portion of sales in physical outlets as well as
online vendors like Amazon.

The most famous article from Levi’s on Amazon is Levi’s 505. Its reviews are 58.000.

The most famous Wrangler’s jeans on Amazon is the Wrangler Regular-Fit Flex Waist. It
is having 30.000 reviews.

The most famous woman jeans from Levi’s on Amazon is Levi’s 711 and Levi’s 721
Skinny with 17.000 and 11.000 reviews.

The most famous woman jeans from Wrangler on Amazon is the Wrangler Q-Baby
Bootcut. Its reviews are 1.300

Levi’s jeans for both men and women are more famous than Wrangler jeans for both men
and women.

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Reasons being; Firstly, Levi’s jeans are softer than Wrangler jeans which makes them
easier to wear. Secondly, in both online and offline marketing, Levi’s invest more.
Thirdly, Wrangler brand has restricted brand awareness outside the US due to lesser
marketing effort.

Levi’s jeans are better for fashion orientate people and not for the work orientated as is
the case with mostly Wrangler jeans.

Interestingly, popularity of both Levi’s and Wrangler is increasing, even as other brands
like Lee is making efforts to catch up. Except in summer months, Levi’s and Wrangler
jeans are on top, near to their maximum potential.

LEVI’S VS LEE JEANS

Google statistics shows that Levi’s and Lee have followed almost same trend in last
decade, Levi’s started its upward trend in 2015 whereas Lee started by 2016. However,
Lee only once reached its full potential in 2018. Also, almost there is no seasonality in its
popularity, even in the pre-Christmas purchasing periods.

However, this data is very subjective. Lee’s has more fashionable jeans in comparison
with Levi’s and Wrangler. Its target market might also be youth.

Free shipping is offered by Lee – Levi’s charges around $7.95 for shipping and Wrangler
also offers free shipping

Competitive advantages of Levi’s

 Levi’s offers a modern touch on classic jeans
 Some of the Levi’s jeans are still in production and popular for many decades
 Levi’s has a larger retail outlet network than Wrangle and Lee
 Levi’s has better Online reviews and popularity trends
Competitive disadvantages of Levi’s
 In case of Cowboy cut and bootcut Wrangler jeans are probably the best

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 Wrangler jeans are more durable than Levi’s and Lee
 Traditional soul of Levi’s jeans are slowly changing while Wrangler jeans still
possess them
 Historic sales do not matter. Levi’s has remarkable manufacturing history. But
these jean brands aren’t seen as just icons today. Faison is also included to a jeans
brand.

PAGE 15
Exhibit 1

Net sales of Levi Strauss worldwide from

1990 to 2010 (in million U.S. dollars)*
4800
4700
4600
4500
4400
4300
4200
4100
4000
1 1
90 99 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 000 00 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009
19 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Revenues

Net Sales of Levi Strauss (1990-2010) (Company Souce)

Exhibit 2

Net sales of Levi Strauss worldwide from 2010 to

2020 (in million U.S. dollars)*
7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Revenues

PAGE 16
Net Sales of Levi Strauss (1990-2010) (Company Source)

Exhibit 3

Global Denim Market Share Compar-

ison

Levi Strauss & Co.

Kontoor Brands Inc.(Wrangler)
28% Diesel S.p.A.
Lee
47% Pepe Jeans London
True Religion Brand Jeans
Others
14%

2%3% 4% 4%

Global Denim Market Share Comparison year 2021

Source: Based on data from Internet

PAGE 17
Exhibit 4

Most Popular denim brand of US

Source: Morning Consultant website

PAGE 18
Exhibit 5 a

Category: All categories

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
2010-11 2011-09 2012-07 2013-05 2014-03 2015-01 2015-11 2016-09 2017-07 2018-05 2019-03 2020-01 2020-11 2021-09

Source: Google Trends from 2010-2021

PAGE 19
Exhibit 5 b

Category: All categories

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
2010-11 2011-09 2012-07 2013-05 2014-03 2015-01 2015-11 2016-09 2017-07 2018-05 2019-03 2020-01 2020-11 2021-09

Source: Google Trends from 2010-2021

Exhibit 5 c

Category: All categories

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
2010-11 2011-09 2012-07 2013-05 2014-03 2015-01 2015-11 2016-09 2017-07 2018-05 2019-03 2020-01 2020-11 2021-09

PAGE 20
Source: Google Trends from 2010-2021

Exhibit 6

Net sales of Levi Strauss & Kontoor Brand

worldwide from 2010 to 2020 (in million U.S. dol-
lars)*
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Levis Kontoor

Source: Internet

PAGE 21
Exhibit 7

Source: www.grandviewresearch.com

Exhibit 8

Advertising and promotion expenses worldwide

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Levi’s 276.4 284 323.3 400.3 399.3 331.4
Kontoor Brands 165.2 164 191.2 225.5 267.5 260.3
Source: Company Documents

PAGE 22
Exhibit 9

Levi’s LinkedIn page

Source: Internet

Exhibit 10 a

Levi’s famous products (Source Internet)

PAGE 23
Exhibit 10 b

Wrangler famous products (Source Internet)

Exhibit 10 c

Lee famous products (Source Internet)

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