in Japan Steven Laufer Jessica Cliffton Ed Coles

Levi Strauss One of the largest brand names in apparel Employ over 10,000 people Head quarters in San Francisco, California Consist of Levi Strauss America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and the Asia Pacific Division Sell men’s and women’s jean products Own the Dockers brand as well

Japan A chain of Islands between the North Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan Slightly smaller than California Population of 127,433,494 people Jeans were introduced to the Japanese before WWII After the war a large supply of jeans was introduced into the country and increased popularity

The Bicentennial in the mid 1970s created a large demand for American goods and American Culture. During the mid-1980’s jeans grew because of the changing trends or Japanese adolescence. Casual wear and leisure time became more popular during this time period The Decade after this the market for jeans shrunk.

Levi Strauss in Japan Levi Strauss moved into Japan in 1991 Japan was already a competitive market with brands like Edwin, Big John, Bobson, Wrangler and Lee already there Denim in seen as premium fashion item

In the beginning Levi Strauss used specialty stores to sell merchandise Because of the premium image denim was priced significantly higher than it was in the United States By selling in small urban specialty stores Levi Strauss had an image of high quality All other brands were sold in specialty stores as well so Levi Strauss never lost when compared with their competition

Later National Chains began to pop up in Japan Levi Strauss would begin to sell to them and leave the specialty stores Selling in the national chains damaged the perception of quality but allowed for better control of inventory and quicker response times Also gave Levi Strauss the ability to sell a full line of products instead of just Jeans

Reaching the Target Market The Image of young America was used to appeal to the Japanese Consumers American Idols and Celebrities like James Dean, John Wayne, Steve McQueen and Marilyn Monroe Television was the primary marketing tool followed by Magazines

Competitive Environment Levi Strauss has competing brands in jeans production that they must compete with to succeed in sales – Selling alternative styles and continually updating their products helped in keeping a fresh image and contributed to maintaining/increasing the target market’s interest.

Distribution Channels Used Changing the format from the common urban specialty stores and relocating to suburban national chain stores – Continuing to use this format helped keep in line with the trend of how jeans were available and benefited Levi in partaking in the trend set before them.

Creating the Right Advertisements for the Market in Japan The image of young America is used to appeal to the target customers. Use of American idols and celebrities were chosen to apply to them – Because Levi Strauss is a well-known and respected brand among Japan for its image of being made in the United States, Levi advertised in the way that it does in America, with little interference from Japan’s local marketing role. This action is an affective one and should be continued in their advertising so long as Japan’s appeal of American culture is still intact.

Future Challenges The target market is continually shrinking due to lower birth rates, which in turn changes the demographic towards an older population – the marketing strategy may have to be changed to apply towards an older audience in order to achieve the same amount of sales as previously obtained. If information has not been obtained on how to sell towards this older demographic, steps should be taken to do so. Everything from the advertisements to even the products themselves must be adjusted so as to sell to the maximum extent.

The use of uniforms in school create less of a desire to own a selection of jeans as less time is spent wearing them – Levi has no influence on the rules of attire in education, thus they must work around it just as they must in the changing demographic. Something that may remedy the effect of school uniforms on the company is to make the uniforms themselves. A specialty line created for use in schools is an opportunity to overcome this obstacle as well as make a profit in the process of doing so.

Maintaining the image of superior quality is jeopardized as the amount of retailers used to sell the jeans increase in number – Trusting the customer to recognize the quality supplied should outweigh the fact that it’s sold more places. Although one can see how it would damage the image by the fact that it is less exclusive as it once was, it is the trend used to sell jeans. Work should be done to confirm that selling jeans at a lower price in more areas is more beneficial than selling jeans at a higher price in less locations. Surveys on what the public’s view is on Levi’s quality should be measured as well to make sure that it is not just corporate concerns but rather a real factor into how the public views their product.

Whenever a company goes into a market outside their domestic setting, the company must og through much more than what they are accustomed to, so that they may ensure the product gets to the customer in the most effective way. Preferences differ between markets Companies should be able to adapt

How Levi Strauss Adapts -Revamping our core Levi's and Dockers product lines to make our products more innovative, market- relevant and appealing to consumers. - Improving our speed to market and responsiveness to changing consumer preferences. - Launching the Levi Strauss Signature brand for value- conscious consumers in North America and Asia. - Expanding our licensing programs to offer more products that complement our core brand product ranges.

-Improving the economics of our Levi's and Dockers brands for retail customers. - Strengthening our management team and attracting top talent to key positions around the world. - Enhancing our global sourcing and product innovation capabilities. - Reducing our cost of goods and operating expenses. - Implementing a new business planning and performance model that clarifies roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and improves our operational effectiveness.