ABSTRACT
One of the most well-known brands in the world is finding itself in the midst of a troubled sea. Levi Strauss & Co., the legendary jeans maker, was once the icon of American brands. Its classic denim jeans were born during the California gold rush and remained a symbol of work clothing until the 1960s, when they turned into the status of hip and alternative. During the past four decades they have remained the uniform of many baby boomers who began wearing them in their youth. However, Levis do not have the same cachet with today's younger market as they did with their older fans. Sales for the American company have declined from $7.1 million at their peak in the mid-1990s to about $4 billion in 2003. Several factors may have contributed to this decline including the corporate culture at Levi Strauss and its past marketing efforts. In a world of target segmentation and brand positioning, it is difficult to be “somewhere in the middle” in customer's minds. In many different types of markets those companies and brands who position themselves there find they cannot compete. Levis were not only positioned as neither hot nor cold in customers' minds, they were also distributed through the most middle-America of retail stores, JCPenney and Sears. Levi also lost out on those customers who were interested in discounted clothing, as they did not want to “devalue” the brand by distributing them through the likes of Wal-Mart or Target. At the other end of the spectrum, Levis did not have an image of being new, cool, or exciting. Younger buyers were turning to the newer brands such as Diesel, Lucky, and Juicy.
