Levi’s redoes its market strategy
The Levi’s brand has long been a trendsetter, although it seemed to have lost focus of it’s main target market for a while. The company is now revamping its market strategy and is focusing on teenage girls as their new target customer. The company will be opening its own stores rather than just being available in department stores, so that it can control its brand better while also countering changes in the wholesale market. Department stores are pushing their in-house brands increasingly, due to significantly higher margins on them, so any retailer must have a mix of department stores as well as exclusive stores. Levi’s new target customers are teenage girls who are likely to be making clothing decisions for a long time and by converting them to the Levi’s brand the company hopes that these selections will influence her purchases in the future as well.
Levi’s brand must balance being fashion-forward with serving its core wholesale accounts, many of whom are middle-market retailers beyond fashion’s cutting edge. That balance has proved tricky in the past, but with new senior management, including CEO John Anderson and presidents of its European and wholesale divisions, the company appears to be on track.