Introduction
Levi’s is the best known jeans name on the planet. As it mentioned, the company was founded by the Strauss family in 1875 and produced jeans for miners out of tent fabric and canvas. It then went on to make jeans from denim which is a coarse, heavy twill fabric. The jeans became popular with miners during the California gold rush and were famous for the twin rivets on the pockets. Furthermore, Levi Strauss & Co., the world's largest brand-name between denim producers, gave the world blue jeans and grew extremely rich on this piece of U.S. culture. Actually, across the world the name of the company's founder becomes synonymous with the pants he invented: Levi's. Levi Strauss company market exists in more than 60 countries and it has 53 production factories and 32 customer service centers in 49 countries.
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Cultural influences on Levi’s performance
The New York Times (7/19/84) determined Levi's market share at 21%. Its closest competitor was Lee, which kept 12% of the denim jeans market. However, the company understood that previous year's net income fell to its lowest level since 1974. This downfall was caused to such reasons as a change in taste away from basic jeans toward fashion jeans, weak foreign currencies; expanded production capacity coupled with a flattened jeans market, and strained relationships with some retailers. The main reason of many of the company's problems is shift in clothing symbolism desired by consumers. The large manufacturers, encouraged by a boom beginning in 1981 increased production and became complacent about a market which would become flat in later years (The New York Times, 7/19/84). The overall inactivity of this market is often attributed to the growth of the baby boom generation. ...
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...G, Wong,V(2008) Principles of Marketing – 5th European Edition, Prentice Hall, New York
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In the Humanistic Tradition the author, Gloria Fiero introduces Adam smith as a Scottish moral philosopher, pioneer of political economy, and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith also known as the Father of Political economy, is best known for one of his two classic works An Inquiry into the nature and causes of the Wealth of Nations. Fiero looks at Smith’s work because the division of labor is important. One thing Smith thinks is even more important for creating a wealthy nation, is to interact and have open trade with different countries. Fiero states,“It is necessary, though very slow and gradual, consequence of a certain propensity in human nature which has in view no such extensive utility; the propensity to truck, barter,
Abercrombie and Fitch was initially started in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie. An outdoorsman himself, Abercrombie wanted to create a clothing line that was suitable for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and hunting. Ezra Fitch, a lover of the Abercrombie clothing line, decided to become a partner in the company, this making what we know today as Abercrombie & Fitch. This partnership began in 1900 and subsequently ended in 1907 when David Abercrombie resigned from the company due to personal differences. The company proved to be a success and had much interest in expanding their company in order to draw in more business. The first major executive decision came shortly after Abercrombie’s resignation. The A&F catalogue was a cross between a clothing magazine and a guide to the outdoors. It gave information and advice to campers, hunters and fishers and also simultaneously provided a wardrobe for these activities. This catalogue increased both sales and notoriety. It brought Abercrombie and Fitch to people all around the world. Unfortunately, success was not everlasting. The company endured very tough financial times during the early 1960’s and 70’s and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1977. In 1988, success came again when The Limited Inc. bought Abercrombie and Fitch. Abercrombie is now a 223.0 million dollar corporation.
Adam Smith, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, (London: 1776), 190-91, 235-37.
Along with this innovation of trying to drive sales, the Popular Club began to find its brand image. The company’s focus was leisurewear for upper-middleclass customers, seeking the Ralph Lauren look at a much lower price. The company’s merchandise style was a combination of Ralph Lauren, on the high end, and the Limited, on the lower end. Popular Club wanted to signify a “preppy spirit,” in doing so they renamed the operation J.Crew. In January 1983, the company mailed its first catalog to its customers (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/j-crew-group-inc-history/). This will be the beginning of a thriving company.
Smith's Influential work, The Wealth of Nations, was written based on the help with the country’s economy who bases it off his book. Smith’s book was mainly written on how inefficient mercantilism was...
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In 2002, CEO of Levi Strauss, Phil Marineau was faced with a tough decision: whether he should sell product at Wal-Mart. In the last five years, Levi-Strauss had lost sales and had to close US plants to move production to cheaper offshore areas. Levi's really needed to revive the brand image to gain back some lost sales and was using marketing to create new advertisements and product placement to broaden their target market. Levi's had tough competition on every level of the price-point spectrum, whether it be high end retailers like Diesel or Calvin Klein, middle vertically integrated retailers like Gap or American Eagles, and on the bottom, private-label brands like Wal-Mart and Target.
Levi Strauss came to America in 1853 and opened his own shop to supply miners with daily necessities. Upon hearing of the need for stronger pants, Strauss took the responsibility of creating pants that meet miner’s needs. He took brown canvas from a tent and created a pair of pants. These waist overalls, as they were often referred to, were strong enough, but were not comfortable. Strauss then switched to denim. He had found a comfortable, suitable article of clothing for miners and other hard workers. They were almost perfect.
Mr.Lauren had more dreams to fulfill. He chose the name Polo for his line of ties because the sport repsented to him a lifestyle of athletic grace and discreet elegance, an image of men who wore well-tailored, classic clothes and wore them with style. With that image in mind, Mr Lauren established Polo as a separate menswear company in 1968, producing a complete line of men's clothes. Using only the finest fabrications, Mr. Lares's menswear was distinctive, innovative, but always classic and refined. His suits blended the American Ivy League natural shoulder silhouette with the fitted shape and expensive fabrics of the best European custom tailored clothing. His shirts were all cotton, richly patterned and expertly made. This same care was, and still is, applied to every element of...
One of the most successful clothing brands in the world, Polo Ralph Lauren has built its success around more than just its line of luxurious designer clothes, but the company is one of the top marketing designers also. It was awarded “ Luxury Brand of the Year” in 2010 by the Luxury Daily. A company that was founded by a man named Ralph Lifchitz, better known as Ralph Lauren of the Bronx, New York in 1968. Since the age of 12, Lauren’s had a strong appeal and taste for looking classy. He would spend the money he earned working with his father after school, purchasing expensive suites. In his latter years, while working for a company called A. Rivetz & Co., Lauren began designing wide ties, the beginning of what latter evolved into the giant clothing empire known as Polo Ralph Lauren. The success of his designer ties caught fire quickly, retail giant Bloomingdales was the first company to endorse Ralph Lauren’s ties, but that ended quickly, when Lauren refused to narrow his ties, and stuck to his product line. Lauren’s success in the designer clothes business was unusual for someone who studied business at City College. In 1968, he founded the company Polo Fashions, a company that would later expand its market, and is among one of the top designer brands in the world today.
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations - The Natural Order is Driven by Man’s Self-interest
I believe that if Levi’s had recognized the market demands the time it start to change and
In the world of fashion, there is denim. It is one of the world’s oldest fabrics, and has been modified and remodelled to go with the latest fashion trends. The first ones who wore this fabric are workers in the California Gold Rush era, designed by Jacob Davis because of its sturdy material that withstood the harsh working conditions. Not just them, even sailors from Italy use this material too as their sailing uniform. Then, it started appearing as an actor’s apparel, and that’s when denim started to become one of a fashion item. People started wearing jeans as part of their daily apparel and even adding their own ideas, such as studs and colouring it with different shades of denim. It doesn’t only stop around that era, but today, they are seen everywhere and has become a major clothing piece for almost all of the age groups. As a reference, we can see young children already wears jeans as part of their clothing, the teenagers added jeans to their wardrobe, and even for the seniors, they consider jeans as a simple and comfortable clothing pieces.
The story behind the birth of jeans emerges from an interesting collaboration between an innovative tailor and a bright businessman. In 1853, Levi Strauss established a whole dry goods business in San Francisco, selling clothing and many other products to small general stores all through the west of America. One of many regular costumers was Jacob Davis, a tailor in Reno Nevada, who used to purchase his work material from the whole sale house of Levi Strauss & Co. At some point, Davis invented the process to rivet the pocket corners on men’s pants to make them stronger. Having earned great success, Davis decides to write to Levi Strauss, suggesting that they jointly apply for a patent; and Levi agreed. Consequently, in 1873, Levi Strauss & Jacob Davis are granted a patent on the process of riveting pants by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on May 20. It is patent number 139,121 and this is the invention of the blue jeans.