Lee Stevens 000293932 D Weston
LEVI'S STRAUSS
Identification of the Key Issues
The key issue that Levi's has to overcome is a missed opportunity to sell their denim jeans to upper class target market. Furthermore the competition has not made this mistake and appears to be using the patented Levi's denim signature stitches in their own work. Although Levi's is claiming that the lawsuits' it has recently filed is because of an infringement of patent rights, it is hard to overlook the decline in overall sales that the company is experiencing. Levis has experience dealing with a wide variety of the male target market for jeans with over 125 years in the business, and locating their operations in over 110 countries, but these statistics do not contribute to the overall problem of falling market share.
Sales have fallen because Levi's made the switch form selling in high priced retailers to junior discount stores, and left their original clientele without a product.
They captured a new market while failing to protect the old market. Unless Levi's is able to issue their brand to their original target market, the brand will continue to automatically reposition itself in the minds of their target market as an inferior good and Levi's will be faced with a difficult and costly challenge of repositioning the brand.
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SWOT Analysis
Strengths: The Levi's Brand has been around for over 125 years with three familiar lines: Levis, Dockers and the Levi's Signature Brand. The company also sells their product to over 110 different countries. This gives Levi's a core competency in experiencing economies of scale due to its global production. The company also holds a patent on the signature denim stitches with the cloth label. Levi's also once dominated the male target market demographic and made the...