A true American brand. The logo is synonymous with quality. But how is a 171-year-old denim company staying relevant in 2024? Thank you so much for asking.
1st: imagine a world without blue jeans. (Can you even??)
Now that the scene is set: in 1853 San Francisco, Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss started a dry goods business.
Levi quickly noticed a gap in the market. Remember: this was SF at the PEAK of the gold rush, so the typical customers at Levi’s store were hard-working (and hard-wearing) folks like miners, cowboys, and manual laborers.
In case you need a visual:
They all had confidence, swagger, grit. But none of them had trousers that could keep up with their work. So Levi sought to craft a new type of clothing that could endure the wear and tear his customers put their clothes through.
Along with his tailor, Jacob Davis, Levi combined a copper rivet with denim, reinforcing pockets and creating “waist overalls” that you and I know today as (drumroll) BLUE JEANS. 👖 Created with laborers in mind, Levi’s jeans were built to withstand everything. Very Americana.
This invention for miners QUICKLY morphed into an everyday piece of clothing for ALL Americans. Rock stars, presidents, cowboys, your sister, your aunt… EVERYONE wore Levi’s.
Oh wait…everyone STILL wears Levi’s.
Maybe we don’t all look as good as Beyoncé I for fucking sure don’t (their brand-new ambassador) while we’re doing it, but yep, everyone’s still wearing ’em.
And, 170 years later, after crashing in 2020 (the year of soft pants) & 2023 (the year of falling discretionary spending), Levi’s is catching a second wind.
They have ~500+ stores worldwide, and just did ~$1.5B in Q3 revenue. But the biggest driver of success? Again, thank you so much for asking!
A big ‘ol investment in improving their DTC.
Not just “expanding efforts” in DTC, but making the brand a DTC-1st retailer Their ecommerce sales were up 19% in Q2 of 2024.
The best part? They are opening up their box of secrets -sharing EXACTLY HOW THEY’RE OWNING DTC.
They locked in on 2 key areas to scale here: #1 – site experience, and #2 – storytelling.
JOIN GO-TO-MILLIONS TO LEARN HOW TO LAUNCH & GROW YOUR DTC BRAND
Over 50k+ subscribers get free weekly emails with insights and advice on marketing that people actually love.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
Spending MONTHS with their digital team, Levi’s was able to improve site speed by 40% and app launch time by 50% in the last year.
After handling load times, Levi’s locked in on the internal search features on their site and app. The navigation wasn’t as intuitive as they wanted it to be, and product recommendations were confusing (or worse—irrelevant).
They spent time LISTENING TO and LEARNING FROM customers (what a concept) to rebuild their site. Before, products weren’t grouped by gender 1st. Feedback from surveys and focus groups led their team to realize gender grouping of products NEEDED to be step number 1.
This customer focus led to 20%(!!!) more consumers getting to a PDP.
Step 2 was storytelling. They’ve got a great brand history and story to tell, sure. But, is that what they’re leaning into? NO.
Cue elevated product imagery and videos.
Levi’s specifically launched head-to-toe imagery for women throughout their site that showcased STYLE. Not individual items, but how it all comes together. That’s how I prefer to shop, so this makes sense to me. 🤠
Adding videos of models wearing the jeans also provided consumers with extra context into the fit and sizing of their products. This sure helped their add to cart numbers, but not as much as their “product highlights” additions.
Across reviews, surveys, and focus groups Levi’s heard their customers cared most about 3 features in their jeans: rise, stretch, and leg opening.
Just look at their product page. It’s clear they listened.
This is like a scavenger hunt LOL, but see all 3 product features highlighted above the fold? “Loose Women’s Jeans,” “Low rise,” “No stretch,” WELL DONE. The trinity.
Oh and look at the head-to-toe pic of the model styling the Levi’s jeans. Compare that to just seeing a flat lay of a pair of jeans on a white background. The thing about listening to customer feedback…it’ll help you reconnect to common sense. 😉
Levi’s has dominated in every venture they’ve focused on since the 1850s, just by listening to their customers. No end in site there, as online revenue up 12% just this past quarter…
