I Will Not Rest Until Levi's Is Back To Its Glory Days

Levi’s was the quintessential dominant American jeans wear brand in the late 1990s. The brand, credited with inventing denim, commanded a premium and the market lapped up whatever it had to offer. Then came what its global President and CEO Charles V. Bergh, or Chip Bergh, calls the lost generation – the young and restless who cared less about legacy and more about style and comfort. As baggy and yoga pants came in vogue, Levi’s lost its touch, most palpably with women buyers. After taking over in 2011, Bergh has successfully stemmed the decline, but the turnaround is still in progress. Speaking to BT’s Sumant Banerji, Bergh outlines his ambition and how India will play a major role for Levi’s.

- Sumant Banerji

Q: When you joined Levi’s in 2011, the brand had eroded and seemed out of sync with the market. You are credited for getting it back on track. How far have you been able to achieve what you set out to do?

A: We’ve made really good progress. At a global level, and particularly in the United States, we’re outperforming almost everybody. In a world where retailers are struggling, we’ve 2,900 stores globally. Yet, our direct-to-consumer business, which includes e-commerce, has been growing for five quarters. I wouldn’t say the turnaround is complete – we still have as much opportunity ahead of us as what we have achieved over the past six years.

Q: What is working for Levi’s now?

A: Many goals have been driven by fixing things. Our co ore Levi’s men’s denim bottom – 511 – is a real success. It is little less important here in India, but 511 is our new icon and, globally, it is bigger than 501. Trucker jackets are another part of the icons and then there are the classic white sunset T-shirts. This is where we make most of our money and generate cash to fund other strategies. Our other big strategic choice was our women’s business, which has grown in double digits every quarter for the last two years globally. We’re still way under-developed on women’s. Our men’s business is four times bigger than the women’s business. We’ve picked up massive market share in India in women’s business over the last year and a half. The other big growth area is tops. Simple things like graphic tees have driven growth in our tops business, which has been growing at 20 per cent fo or the last couple of quarters.

Q: Given your geographic spread, India is only a fraction of your overall turnover. Yet you are a regular visitor here…