in Japan
Steven Laufer
Jessica Cliffton
Ed Coles
Levi Strauss
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One of the largest brand names in apparel
Employ over 10,000 people
Head quarters in San Francisco, California
Consist of Levi Strauss America, Europe,
Middle East and North Africa, and the Asia
Pacific Division
• Sell men’s and women’s jean products
• Own the Dockers brand as well
Japan
• A chain of Islands between the
North Pacific Ocean and Sea of
Japan
• Slightly smaller than California
• Population of 127,433,494 people
• Jeans were introduced to the
Japanese before WWII
• After the war a large supply of
jeans was introduced into the
country and increased popularity
• The Bicentennial in the mid 1970s created a
large demand for American goods and
American Culture.
• During the mid-1980’s jeans grew because of
the changing trends or Japanese adolescence.
Casual wear and leisure time became more
popular during this time period
• The Decade after this the market for jeans
shrunk.
Levi Strauss in Japan
• Levi Strauss moved into Japan in
1991
• Japan was already a competitive
market with brands like Edwin,
Big John, Bobson, Wrangler and
Lee already there
• Denim in seen as premium
fashion item
• In the beginning Levi Strauss used specialty
stores to sell merchandise
• Because of the premium image denim was
priced significantly higher than it was in the
United States
• By selling in small urban specialty stores Levi
Strauss had an image of high quality
• All other brands were sold in specialty stores
as well so Levi Strauss never lost when
compared with their competition
• Later National Chains began to pop up in
Japan
• Levi Strauss would begin to sell to them and
leave the specialty stores
• Selling in the national chains damaged the
perception of quality but allowed for better
control of inventory and quicker response
times
• Also gave Levi Strauss the ability to sell a full
line of products instead of just Jeans
Reaching the Target Market
• The Image of young America was
used to appeal to the Japanese
Consumers
• American Idols and Celebrities like
James Dean, John Wayne, Steve
McQueen and Marilyn Monroe
• Television was the primary
marketing tool followed by
Magazines
Competitive Environment
• Levi Strauss has competing brands in jeans
production that they must compete with to
succeed in sales
– Selling alternative styles and continually updating
their products helped in keeping a fresh image
and contributed to maintaining/increasing the
target market’s interest.
Distribution Channels Used
• Changing the format from the common urban
specialty stores and relocating to suburban
national chain stores
– Continuing to use this format helped keep in line
with the trend of how jeans were available and
benefited Levi in partaking in the trend set before
them.
Creating the Right Advertisements for
the Market in Japan
• The image of young America is used to appeal to
the target customers. Use of American idols and
celebrities were chosen to apply to them
– Because Levi Strauss is a well-known and respected
brand among Japan for its image of being made in the
United States, Levi advertised in the way that it does
in America, with little interference from Japan’s local
marketing role. This action is an affective one and
should be continued in their advertising so long as
Japan’s appeal of American culture is still intact.
Future Challenges
• The target market is continually shrinking due to
lower birth rates, which in turn changes the
demographic towards an older population
– the marketing strategy may have to be changed to
apply towards an older audience in order to achieve
the same amount of sales as previously obtained. If
information has not been obtained on how to sell
towards this older demographic, steps should be
taken to do so. Everything from the advertisements to
even the products themselves must be adjusted so as
to sell to the maximum extent.
• The use of uniforms in school create less of a
desire to own a selection of jeans as less time
is spent wearing them
– Levi has no influence on the rules of attire in
education, thus they must work around it just as
they must in the changing demographic.
Something that may remedy the effect of school
uniforms on the company is to make the uniforms
themselves. A specialty line created for use in
schools is an opportunity to overcome this
obstacle as well as make a profit in the process of
doing so.
• Maintaining the image of superior quality is
jeopardized as the amount of retailers used to
sell the jeans increase in number
– Trusting the customer to recognize the quality
supplied should outweigh the fact that it’s sold more
places. Although one can see how it would damage
the image by the fact that it is less exclusive as it once
was, it is the trend used to sell jeans. Work should be
done to confirm that selling jeans at a lower price in
more areas is more beneficial than selling jeans at a
higher price in less locations. Surveys on what the
public’s view is on Levi’s quality should be measured
as well to make sure that it is not just corporate
concerns but rather a real factor into how the public
views their product.
• Whenever a company goes into a market
outside their domestic setting, the company
must og through much more than what they
are accustomed to, so that they may ensure
the product gets to the customer in the most
effective way.
• Preferences differ between markets
• Companies should be able to adapt
How Levi Strauss Adapts
• -Revamping our core Levi's and Dockers product lines
to make our products more innovative, marketrelevant and appealing to consumers.
• - Improving our speed to market and responsiveness to
changing consumer preferences.
• - Launching the Levi Strauss Signature brand for valueconscious consumers in North America and Asia.
• - Expanding our licensing programs to offer more
products that complement our core brand product
ranges.
• -Improving the economics of our Levi's and
Dockers brands for retail customers.
• - Strengthening our management team and
attracting top talent to key positions around the
world.
• - Enhancing our global sourcing and product
innovation capabilities.
• - Reducing our cost of goods and operating
expenses.
• - Implementing a new business planning and
performance model that clarifies roles,
responsibilities and accountabilities and improves
our operational effectiveness.
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