From the gold miners of the 1840s to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Levi Strauss has been the denim brand of choice for iconic American entrepreneurs for nearly two centuries — most of them male.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The company is now trying to tilt that demographic mix in the opposite direction.
If there were one major gap in Levi’s sales portfolio — and thus a potential source of untapped growth — it is sales to women, who barely make up 40% of company receipts, CEO Michelle Gass said.That’s despite more than half the company’s employees being female.
Gass, the company’s first-ever female chief executive, said Levi’s is seeking to evolve beyond jeans to become a major force in women’s apparel with items like denim skirts and blouses.“We’re still under-serving the female consumer,” Gass said in an interview for NBC News’ Business in America series.Levi's CEO Michelle Gass sits down for an interview on NBC News.NBC News“There’s been so many eras and chapters for Levi’s, and here today, while we’re so in tune and honoring that legacy, we also see a huge chapter ahead of us,” said Gass.If Levi’s stock price is an indication, Gass is ushering Levi’s successfully into that next chapter.
Since the company announced Gass’s hire in November 2022, Levi’s stock has climbed nearly 50% to more than $23 per share.Last year, Levi’s raked in $6.4 billion in net sales, its best 12-month stretch since 1997, as athleisure fatigue has given way to the stirrings of a denim revival.
On Wednesday, the company reported revenues of $1.56 billion for the second-quarter, beating Wall Street’s expectations and putting it on track to top last year’s annual sales.For an apparel brand synonymous with America’s history, Gass is quick to emphasize that today Levi’s is a global brand, with approximately 60% of company sales coming from overseas.
Alongside a brand part...