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Improving Sales Strategy: Levis Case Study

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Problem
Faced with 5 years of declining sales, should Levi’s sell a brand to mass discount retailer, Wal-Mart?

Executive Summary
Quick! Name the first company that comes to mind for the following products: facial tissue, photocopiers, and jeans. Did you answer Kleenex, Xerox, and Levi’s? I bet you did. The #1 apparel brand for brand awareness and recognition, “Levi’s” is virtually synonymous with “jeans.” In the past several years however this strong brand recognition has failed to translate into sales growth and in fact the company has seen a progressive decline over the last 5 years.

Faced with the declining sales, Levi Strauss & Co.’s CEO, Phil Marineau, has been considering selling a Levi’s brand to mass discount retailer, …show more content…

In the case of Levi’s it seems that mere brand name recognition isn’t enough. And with 5 years of declining sales, Levi’s has to reinvent itself or die. After reviewing the situational analysis of the company, several alternatives can be considered.

Alternatives
1. “Do nothing” and hope to sell more. Faced with a 5 year decline in sales, doing nothing isn’t a very sound strategy. However, perhaps current initiatives such as new product offerings and specialty retail channels need more time to catch on.

2. Enter a new market with a new product. Sell a Levi’s value brand to mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, a retail channel that accounts for 31% of all jean sales. The potential increase in sales from this new channel is probably very good in the short term, however the risk is that entry into the discount market even with a Levi’s value brand that’s differentiated from the main product line, will further devalue and dilute the brand, making it unattractive to its current retailers. If Levi’s gets dropped from chain, department stores, and independents because its brand is no longer relevant to its customers, then the potential loss could offset a good deal of any potential gain. Further, once the brand loses its “shine,” through dilution, discounting and devaluation, the benefits to Wal-Mart of carrying a higher profile “national brand” are lost. A likely scenario is

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