Levi’s is going global again!
When I was a kid, I remember seeing commercials for Levi’s, where one guy traded his Levi’s with another for a mini cooper car! Looks like those days are coming around again if it’s left up to Armin Broger.
Armin Broger, new president of Levi Strauss Europe, Middle East and Africa has the task of keeping Levi’s in fashion. As most rebels grow up to become responsible parents, Levi Strauss & Co. has discovered, it is hard to ditch the image of being your Daddy’s brand of jeans. Levi Strauss, based in San Francisco, has had trouble keeping its edge sharp, with global sales falling to $4.1 billion in 2002 from a high of $7.1 billion in 1996. From 1998 to 2001, Broger helped double revenue at Diesel. Before joining Levi’s, he was European chief executive of 7 for All Mankind. His goal at Levi’s, is not to start chasing fast fashion but rather to re-establish the brand as a reference point: a sophisticated, premium label that sets the tone for the rest of the industry.
‘Only if you go back to your real roots can you be fresh and irreverent,’ Broger said.David Walker Smith, director of men’s wear at Selfridges in London for 11 years, said ‘I think there’s a hunger towards Levi’s, a huge expectation and desire,’ he said. ‘It’s a pure brand and it’s a very innovative brand, and for the teenage crowd it’s new.”