History Of Levi Strauss

& Co. Essay, Research Paper

When the name Levi Strauss and Company is said, one of the most popular brands of jeans comes to mind. Even if you have never owned a pair of Levi s, the name triggers an image, such as 501 Blues for our generation, and maybe James Dean for our parents. According to the video we watched in class, Levi s was not at the top of any denim tests, however they sell for the most. This is due to their marketing strategies. Over past decades Levi s has changed it s image to fit with the current style. In the 20s and 30s it was the cowboy; after the war it was east coast casual; the 50s and 60s were Marlon Brando and James Dean and the 70s were aimed at college campuses. When Levi s launched its Blues campaign it was trying to get a new image on the same product. Now, to keep up with the changing styles, it has new product lines such as Dockers and Slates. In doing this however, Levi s lost sight of the kids who are the future buyers. So, now Levi s current task is to market it s Silver Tab brand as the new, cool style.

Everything seems to be revolving around marketing. The way a product is marketed affects it s sales. Levi s, as well as every other company, has many factors outside of the marketing department that affect the marketing decisions. In the microenvironment, the rest of the company, it s retailers, customers and competitors affect marketing decisions. The other departments in the company, such as the research and development and the finance department affect the marketing department because they tell them who to target and how much they can spend on the ads. Where a product is sold and the way it is displayed by those retailers is another important micro environmental factor. However, probably the most important micro environmental factors are the customers and competitors of Levi s. Marketing revolves around what other companies are doing and what customers desire.

Aside from all of the micro environmental factors, there are also macro environmental factors, which affect the marketing department, such as the demographical, technological and cultural environments. As technology changes, so do companies and their products. With today s new technology, you can have jeans custom made to your size and tastes with the click of a mouse. Levi s did this to keep up with the changing technology of the world. Also, the size, age, and sex of the population all affect how a product should be marketed. As the population has aged, Levi s has marketed Dockers, Slates, and now Silver Tab to move with the tastes of the differing ages. The ads are also suited for every different culture that Levi s markets to.

When considering their relationship with the baby boomers, it becomes apparent that Levi s product design was successful because it appealed to a specific generation over the course of more than three decades. Initially, Levi s original 501 jeans became popular in the early sixties in the United States. The jeans appealed to the baby boomers, which were teenagers at the time, because they emerged as a sign of rebellion and a break of tradition when compared with the way of life of their parents. In addition, such rebellion was associated with popular movie stars at the time, such as James Dean. The rise in popularity of jeans in contemporary culture allowed Levi s to take control of the apparel industry and become the most popular name associated with blue jeans.

As the baby boomers grew to become more conservative adults, Levi s once again marketed a product line specifically tailored to their needs. Levi s responded to changes in their marketing environment by altering their products to make them more formal, fashionable, and yet more comfortable, thus directly responding to the needs of the baby boomers. Levi s released Dockers, which bridged the gap between formal trousers and informal blue jeans. The pants were extremely versatile. They could be worn in both the office and on the weekend. Baby boomers loved the idea of such a pant because of its casual feel and fashionable design. In addition, the baby boomers felt comfortable purchasing Dockers because they were familiar with Levi s, and trusted the quality of the brand.

As the needs of contemporary culture steered toward more formal, higher quality pants, Levi s once again released a line that appealed to the baby boomer generation. In the mid nineties, Levi s released Slates, a line of higher quality, more fashionable trousers, geared at the older, more refined businessmen of the nineties. The line was ideal for those in the baby boomer generation who found Dockers to be too casual at times. Once again, the baby boomers were able to purchase high-quality clothing that appealed to their needs. Furthermore, baby boomers again felt comfortable purchasing clothing from a brand they trusted.

In the early 1990’s Levi’s introduced their line of Silver Tab jeans. Levi’s goal by introducing these jeans was to regain the market share they had lost over the last decade. They planned on regaining the majority of the market by making jeans that appealed to teenagers up to people in their early twenties. The average age of a person who buys a pair of Silver Tab jeans is 18 and the average age for a person who buys all other Levi’s products is 25. So, Levi’s accomplished part of their goal by getting the Silver Tab brand to appeal to the younger generations.