The
U.S. jeans category has been declining for years as consumers are increasingly
opting for yoga pants over denim. Sales
in 2017 were $16.2 billion, down from $18.8 billion in 2013. And VF Corp., owner of Lee and Wrangler jeans
is eyeing a sale or spin-off. But there
was one notable exception to the trend - Levi's - who saw an 8% revenue
increase in its most recent fiscal year. (Mattioli & Kapner, 2018)
This
week Levi's released their third quarter results and they were eye
popping. An 11% jump in sales, marking
the fourth quarter in a row that the company has achieved double-digit revenue
gains; and net income soared 45% to $130
million. (Mahoney, 2018)
So the
obvious question is why?
One
possibility is their limited-edition
customization studio in Los Angeles. And
then there's the Made & Crafted collection with Lily Aldridge and the
Levi's X Air Jordan collaboration - both sold out within minutes.
But
Levi's is crediting their activism. Last
month they made a commitment to ending gun violence with a $1 million Safer
Tomorrow Fund which will provide support to a variety of nonprofits and youth activists.
The
company has also joined forces with Rock the Vote for the "Voting Looks
Good On Everyone" campaign. You can
look at the video here...
And
this week Levi's Australian division is kicking off a partnership with Support
Act publicizing a 24-hour mental-health helpline for artists and music workers. You can check out a wellness tips video
here...
Lots
of good stuff. No wonder the results
have been impressive.
So,
which persuasion techniques are they making use of with each of these tactics? Do you think different generations are
responding to different ones? Which
appeals most to each? Why? Levi's sales appear to have been up even
before these efforts began. Any thoughts
about why that might be?
Mattioli,
D. & Kapner, S. (2018, August 10) Wrangler
Owner Looks to Exit Jeans Business. wsj.com.
Retrieved October 10, 2018, from
Mahoney,
S. (2018, October 10) Levi's Credits Activism
With Surging Sales. mediapost.com. Retrieved
October 17, 2018, from
6 comments:
Your insights are, as ever, valuable thought starters! Thank you
Here in Europe we are seeing 'artisan' jean companies spring up.
Offering great jeans at an eye watering price (well eye-watering to me).
Link to one example https://hiutdenim.co.uk
This company aside from its products adds value to the experience with a cool newsletter that curates great content for those of us who are cool.
Also, one see's more retired people wearing jeans to step out in.
Perhaps this is an attempt to stay young and lovely?
Thank you Professor Lehrer
'Jean Genie, let yourself go' David Bowie 1972
Levi’s makes use of the two tactics, brands collaboration and PR promotion, to attract consumers and increase its sales and revenues. The two tactics are both successful in both short-term and long-term.
First, the brand's collaboration tactic works effectively in a short-term. Levi’s produces jeans which have no particular differences with other jeans brands. However, the brands collection and limited products make Levi’s become special and competitive. This tactic uses the persuasion technology, Scarcity. The limited products mean consumers can only purchase such products in a short period and they cannot purchase the limited products in the future. Thus, limited products are scarce for consumers. Customers will be worried about their loss of losing a rare opportunity to own a scarce limited product, if they don’t purchase the limited product. What’s more, the brands collaboration makes limited products much scarcer than the regular limited products because brands collaboration itself is rare. is an excellent example. It is a win-win corporation for both Levi’s and Jordan because Levi’s X Jordan products can not only attract Levi’s fans but also Jordan fans at the same times. People who love Levi’s will buy Levi’s X Jordan and they might like Jordan latter. People who love Jordan will buy Levi’s X Jordan and they might be Levi’s loyal customers later. The customers of Levi’s are about 25 to 35 and the customers of Jordan are about 15 to 25. The corporation between Levi’s and Jordan can help the brands attract customers from larger customer ranges. This tactic is very attractive to the younger generation, especially the young people who are between 20 to 25 and love both the two brands.
Second, the PR promotion tactic works successfully in a long-term period. The PR promotion is about the persuasion technology, Consensus. Levi’s produces the PR content video to not only improve the brand image but also attract customers who reach the consensus with Levi’s about the ideas in PR videos. Customers are emotional. If the content video of Levi’s makes audience touched, they will be interested in the brand Levi’s and be aware of the brand idea of Levi’s. The content videos of Levi’s PR promotion are about the concerns and social responsibilities of Levi’s. The target customers of Levi’s are between 25 to 35. Those people could be young professionals who might have similar concerns and social responsibilities with Levi’s. The PR promotion can be very attractive to the target customers of Levi’s.
Guo Yu
Levi has used several techniques that have seen its sales boost in the recent past. The first thing that has led to their rise in sales was the customization studio. Here the company used celebrity influencer marketing which lies under the authority persuasive technique. The firm gave the celebs an opportunity to customize their own fashion of old jeans which were later shown to the potential customers throughout the world, probably through social media and magazines. Celebrities carry an authority; they have the power to influence the behaviors of the consumers. Their endorsement and creative input enables them to bring attention and many people who wanted to identify with the celebs must have bought the jeans
Its involvement is sustainability storytelling has also influenced the customer’s behaviors. They feel that they need to pay back the good that the company has shown them. In the several campaigns where Levi has partnered with other organizations or when it joined the country’s war statement (ending gun violence) or even the mental health help line, these collaborations has helped the company to build its brand awareness and also drove in more clients. The possible persuasion technique at work here is the reciprocity technique. Levi’s engagement in issues that interest the community must have won the hearts of the consumers and the community (consumers) on the other hand feels obliged to return the favor by buying more of its products.
Yue Feng
It is interesting that Levi's has been experiencing an increase in sales when the fashion scene seems to have focused heavily on "athleisure" attire, which would lead me to assume that denim sales would be on the decline.
What Levi's did here is very strategic and smart. They aligned themselves with other brands that have a very strong and loyal following and collaborated exclusively with them. This not only uses the scarcity technique to give the illusion of limited inventory, but it also draws the attention of a committed tribe that Levi's may not have otherwise reached before.
They also made consumers feel really good about their purchases by giving something to a cause that Levi's probably identified as a cause that their target group cared about. Every time a purchase was made, there was a contribution toward a charitable cause of some sort. This is yet another method to potentially reach new consumer and it reinforces in the consumers' minds that they are adding value with their purchase.
Levi's is using several persuasion techniques such as Commitment & Consistency, Social Proof, and Liking.Since they are collaborating with influencers that appeal to the millennials they are targeting that market of millennials. Also providing for funds that are non -profit adhere to the fact that they support effective social strategies to strengthen our health. Levi's was always a brand that was labeled as a "must have' and that is true for me. I recently bought a Levis's corduroy jacket and it was such a great purchase that i wear it all the time. Levi's has great marketing and they persuade their customers whichever consumer they are targeting with specific ads tailored effectively to the desired consumer.
I think Levi’s has been doing incredibly well because of their unique collaborations with various popular companies such as Re/done and Air Jordan along with their activism, especially their public commitment to end gun violence. As a 20 year old girl, I initially chose to shop Levi’s Jeans because of their unique and exclusive collaborations. However, after learning about their activism and how committed they are to ending gun violence, I feel great about my past purchases and will definitely continue shopping there. Levi’s is making use of a few persuasion techniques. For example, they are using the The Liking Principle,
which states that we are more likely to comply with requests made by people we like. Especially after recent gun violence incidents, by openly committing to end gun violence, Levi’s has definitely fulfilled the Liking Principle. Social Influence is another persuasion technique that Levi’s has used by collaborating with people like Lily Aldrige who definitely affects consumers’ emotions and opinions substantially. I think different generations are certainly responding to different ones. I assume Generation X probably responds better to the activism than Generation Z. Conversely, Generation Z probably responds better to Levi’s “cool” collaborations than Generation X. I think Levi’s sales have been up before these efforts began because of their originality and the fact that they have been around for the past 165 years.
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