View source for Company:Levi Strauss & Co.

{{short description|American clothing company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Levi Strauss & Co.
| logo = Levis-logo-quer.svg
| logo_upright = 0.7
| image = Levi's Storefront (48105830541).jpg
| image_caption = Levi's flagship store in Times Square
| type = [[Finance:Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{NYSE|LEVI}} (Class A)
| industry = Textile
| genre =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1853|5|1}} (as David Stern & Levi Strauss)
| founder = Levi Strauss
| defunct =
| location = Levi's Plaza
| hq_location_city = {{wipe|San Francisco}}, {{wipe|California}}
| hq_location_country = US
| locations = 2,800 company-operated stores<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/LSCo-Q4-and-FY-2013-Earnings-Release-Final1.pdf |title=Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Fourth-Quarter & Fiscal-Year 2013 Financial Results |publisher=Levi Strauss |date=February 11, 2014 |access-date=March 11, 2016}}</ref>
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{nowrap|Chip Bergh ([[Company:CEO|CEO]])}};<ref name="forbes"/> {{nowrap|Harmit Singh (CFO)}};<ref name="forbes" /> {{nowrap|Stephen Neal ([[Social:Chairman|Chairman]])}}<ref name=bloombergprofile>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=21976958&privcapId=30773 |title=Executive Profile: Stephen C. Neal |website=bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg LP |access-date=February 20, 2019 |date=February 20, 2019}}</ref>
| products = Clothing
| brands = {{ubl|Levi's|Dockers|Denizen|Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.}}
| production =
| services =
| revenue = {{gain}} {{wipe|United States dollar}}5.764 billion (2021)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/LEVI/levi-strauss/revenue | title=Levi Strauss Revenue 2010-2022 &#124; LEVI }}</ref>
| operating_income = {{gain}} $686 million (2021)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/LEVI/levi-strauss/operating-income | title=Levi Strauss Operating Income 2010-2022 &#124; LEVI }}</ref>
| net_income = {{gain}} $554 million (2021)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/LEVI/levi-strauss/net-income | title=Levi Strauss Net Income 2010-2022 &#124; LEVI }}</ref>
| aum =
| assets = {{gain}} $5.9 billion (2021)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/LEVI/levi-strauss/total-assets | title=Levi Strauss Total Assets 2010-2022 &#124; LEVI }}</ref>
| equity =
| owner =
| num_employees = 15,100<ref name=LeviAR18>{{Cite web|url=https://s23.q4cdn.com/172692177/files/doc_financials/2018/q4/10k-q4-2018.pdf|title=2018Form 10-K}}</ref>
| num_employees_year = 2018
| parent =
| subsid =
| footnotes =
| homepage = {{ubl|{{URL|https://www.levistrauss.com/|levistrauss.com}}|{{URL|https://www.levi.com/|levi.com}}}}
| intl =
}}
'''Levi Strauss & Co.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|iː|v|aɪ|_|ˈ|s|t|ɹ|aʊ|s}} {{respell|LEE|vy|_|STROWSS}}) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its '''Levi's''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|iː|v|aɪ|z}} {{respell|LEE|vyze}}) brand of denim [[Engineering:Jeans|jeans]]. It was founded in May 1853<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/levi-strauss--co-celebrates-150th-anniversary-55466052.html |title=Levi Strauss & Co. Celebrates 150th Anniversary |agency=PR Newswire |date=May 1, 2003 |access-date=February 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821004122/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/levi-strauss--co-celebrates-150th-anniversary-55466052.html |archive-date=August 21, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to {{wipe|San Francisco}}, {{wipe|California}}, to open a West Coast branch of his brothers' New York [[Finance:Dry goods|dry goods]] business. Although the corporation is registered in Delaware,<ref name="dereg">{{cite news |title=In the United States Patent and Trademark Office Before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board – Notice of Opposition |url=https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91253125-OPP-1.pdf |agency=Trademark Trial and Appeal Board |issue=ESTTA1025287 |publisher=USPTO |date=24 December 2019}}</ref> the company's corporate headquarters is located in Levi's Plaza in San Francisco.<ref name=sdbj>{{cite news|last=Duxbury |first=Sarah |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/07/13/daily7.html |title=Levi Strauss to stay put in San Francisco |newspaper=San Francisco Business Times |date=July 13, 2009 |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref>

==History==
===Origin and formation (1853–1890s)===
[[File:Levis logo 1892.png|thumb|upright=1|The original Levi Strauss logo, 1892]]
German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss started his trading business at the 90 Sacramento Street address in San Francisco and then moved the location to 62 Sacramento Street.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUkYYVjEf3AC&q=Levi+Strauss+started+the+business+at+the+90+Sacramento+Street+address+in+San+Francisco&pg=PA199 |title=Inspiration from Lives of Famous People |access-date=13 April 2020 |author=Virk, Azhar Saleem |date=February 2003 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=9780595268245}}</ref> In 1858, the company was listed as ''Strauss, Levi (David Stern & Lewis Strauss) importers clothing, etc. 63 & 65 Sacramento St.'' (today, on the current grounds of the 353 Sacramento Street Lobby<ref>{{Cite web |title=353 Sacramento Street &#124; 353 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA, 94111-3620 &#124; JLL PowerSearch |url=https://powersearch.jll.com/us-en/property/31335/353-sacramento-st |website=JLL PowerSearch - United States of America commercial KIKI real estate listings}}</ref>) in the San Francisco Directory with Strauss serving as its sales manager and his brother-in-law, David Stern, as its manager.<ref name=JMAWStern>{{Cite web|title=David Stern & His Sons: Prime Movers of Levi Strauss & Co. |publisher=Museum of the American West|url=http://www.jmaw.org/stern-levi-strauss-san-francisco/ |access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref>

Jacob Davis, a Latvian-Jewish<ref name=":02">{{cite web |title=Jacob Davis: Pioneer Jewish Tailor of Nevada & His Copper Rivets That Made History |url=http://www.jmaw.org/jacob-davis-levi-rivets-jewish/ |access-date=March 28, 2015 |website=Jewish Museum of the American West |publisher=Jewish Museum of the American West}}</ref> immigrant, was a Reno, Nevada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=710&Itemid=418 |date=September 1999 |title=Levi' 501 jeans: a riveting story in early Reno |publisher=Nevada Archives |first=Guy |last=Rocha |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305203817/http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=710&Itemid=418 |archive-date=March 5, 2012}}</ref> tailor who frequently purchased bolts of denim cloth from Levi Strauss & Co.'s wholesale house. After one of Davis's customers kept purchasing cloth to reinforce torn pants, he had an idea to use copper [[Engineering:Rivet|rivet]]s to reinforce the points of strain, such as on the pocket corners and at the base of the button fly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=710&Itemid=418 |title=Levi pants invented in Reno, Nevada |via=State of Nevada Archives |work=Sierra Sage, Carson City/Carson Valley, Nevada |date=March 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305203817/http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=710&Itemid=418 |archive-date=March 5, 2012 |access-date=March 7, 2018}}</ref> Davis did not have the money needed to purchase a patent, so he wrote to Strauss suggesting that they go into business together. After Strauss accepted Davis's offer, on May 20, 1873, the two men received {{US patent|139121}} from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patented rivet was later incorporated into the company's jean design and advertisements. Contrary to an advertising campaign suggesting that Levi Strauss sold his first jeans to gold miners during the [[Engineering:California Gold Rush|California Gold Rush]] (which peaked in 1849), the manufacturing of denim overalls only began in the 1870s. In 1890, the rivet patent went into public domain, lot numbers were assigned the products that were being manufactured, and "501" was used to designate the famous copper-riveted waist overalls.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/History-of-Levis-501-Jeans.pdf |title=History of The Levi's 501 Jeans |access-date=December 9, 2021}}</ref>

===Growth in popularity (1910s–1960s)===
[[File:Levi Strauss sign.JPG|thumb|upright=1|alt=photo of an advertising sign for Levi Strauss & Co. painted on a brick wall in Woodland, California|Levi Strauss advertising on a building in Woodland, California]]
Modern jeans began to appear in the 1920s, but sales were largely confined to the working people of the western United States, such as cowboys, lumberjacks, and railroad workers. Levi's jeans apparently were first introduced to the East during the dude ranch craze of the 1930s, when vacationing Easterners returned home with tales (and usually examples) of the hard-wearing pants with rivets. Another boost came in World War II, when blue jeans were declared an essential commodity and were sold only to people engaged in defense work.

Between the 1950s and 1980s, Levi's jeans became popular among a wide range of youth [[Philosophy:Counterculture of the 1960s|subcultures]], including greasers, [[Philosophy:Mod (subculture)|mods]], rockers, and hippies. Levi's popular shrink-to-fit 501s were sold in a unique sizing arrangement: the indicated size referred to the size of the jeans prior to shrinking, and the [[Chemistry:Shrinkage (fabric)|shrinkage]] was substantial.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fashionintime.org/history-jeans/|title=History of Jeans and Denim|date=2015-01-17|work=History of Fashion|access-date=2017-06-12|language=en-US}}</ref> The company still produces these unshrunk, uniquely sized jeans. Although popular lore (abetted by company marketing) holds that the original design remains unaltered, this is not the case: the crotch rivet and waist cinch were removed during World War II to conform to War Production Board requirements to conserve metal and were not replaced after the war.<ref name="selvedgeyard/denim-hollywood">{{cite web |title=HISTORY OF DENIM THROUGH THE AGES {{!}} WESTERN WEAR GOES HOLLYWOOD |url=http://selvedgeyard.com/2009/10/17/history-of-denim-through-the-ages-western-wear-goes-hollywood/ |website=The Selvedge Yard |date=October 18, 2009 |access-date=22 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024074201/http://selvedgeyard.com/2009/10/17/history-of-denim-through-the-ages-western-wear-goes-hollywood/ |archive-date=24 October 2013}}</ref> Additionally, the back pocket rivets, which had been covered in denim since 1937, were removed completely in the 1950s due to complaints they scratched furniture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/History-of-Levis-501-Jeans.pdf |title=History of The Levi's 501 Jeans |access-date=March 11, 2016}}</ref>

===Blue jeans era (1960s–1980s)===
[[File:Levi's 501 raw jeans.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A pair of Levi's 501 jeans]]
From the early 1960s through the mid-1970s, Levi Strauss experienced significant growth in its business as the more casual look of the 1960s and 1970s ushered in the "blue jeans craze" and served as a catalyst for the brand. Levi's, under the leadership of Walter Haas, Peter Haas Sr., Paul Glasco, and George P. Simpkins Sr., expanded the firm's clothing line by adding new fashions and models, such as stone-washed jeans through the acquisition of Great Western Garment Company (GWG), a Canadian clothing manufacturer. The acquisition led to the introduction of the modern "stone washing" technique, which is still in use by Levi Strauss. Simpkins is credited with the company's record-paced expansion of its manufacturing capacity from 16 plants to more than 63 plants in the United States – along with 23 overseas – from 1964 to 1974.

In the 1980s, the company closed around 60 of its manufacturing plants because of financial difficulties and strong competition.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Levi-Strauss-and-Co|title=Levi Strauss & Co. {{!}} American company|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-06-12|language=en}}</ref>

The Dockers brand, which was launched in 1986 and is sold largely through department store chains, helped the company grow through the mid-1990s, as denim sales began to fade. Dockers were introduced into Europe in 1996 and led by CEO Jorge Bardina. Levi Strauss attempted to sell the Dockers division in 2004 to relieve part of the company's $2.6 billion outstanding debt.

===Brand competition (1990s)===
[[File:Levi's 506 inside.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Levi's 506 zip fly jeans]]
By the 1990s, Levi's faced competition from other brands and cheaper products from overseas, and began accelerating the pace of its U.S. factory closures and its use of offshore subcontracting agreements. In 1991, Levi Strauss became implicated in a scandal involving pants made in the Northern Mariana Islands: some 3% of Levi's jeans sold annually with the "Made in the USA" label were shown to have been made by Chinese laborers under what the U.S. Department of Labor called slave-like conditions.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shannon |first1=Phillip |title=Made in the U.S.A.? -- Hard Labor on a Pacific Island/A special report.; Saipan Sweatshops Are No American Dream |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-pacific-island-special-report-saipan-sweatshops-are-no.html |access-date=22 October 2023 |work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=July 18, 1993 }}</ref> {{As of|2016}}, most Levi's jeans are made outside the U.S., although a few of the higher-end, more expensive styles are still made domestically.

Cited for sub-minimum wages, seven-day work weeks with 12-hour shifts, poor living conditions, and other indignities, Tan Holdings Corporation, Levi Strauss' Marianas subcontractor, paid what were then the largest fines in U.S. labor history, distributing more than $9 million in restitution to some 1,200 employees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cleanclothes.org/companies/levi5-5-98.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028011357/http://www.cleanclothes.org/companies/levi5-5-98.htm|url-status=dead|title=May 1998, Case file Levi Strauss & Co|archive-date=October 28, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Weekend/FL18Jp16.html |title=The island that lost its shirts |work=Thestandard.com.hk |access-date=March 16, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209010134/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Weekend/FL18Jp16.html |archive-date=February 9, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-pacific-island-special-report-saipan-sweatshops-are-no.html |title=Made in the U.S.A.? Hard Labor on a Pacific Island/A special report.; Saipan Sweatshops Are No American Dream |work=The New York Times|date=July 18, 1993 |access-date=March 16, 2010|first=Philip |last=Shenon}}</ref> Levi Strauss claimed no knowledge of the offenses, severed ties to the Tan family, and instituted labor reforms and inspection practices in its offshore facilities.

The activist group Fuerza Unida (United Force) formed following the January 1990 closure of a plant in San Antonio, {{wipe|Texas}}, in which 1,150 seamstresses – some of whom had worked for Levi Strauss for decades – saw their jobs exported to Costa Rica.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accd.edu/pac/lrc/chicanaleaders/fuerzaunida.htm |title=Fuerza Unida |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929184743/http://www.accd.edu/pac/lrc/chicanaleaders/fuerzaunida.htm |archive-date=September 29, 2008}}</ref> During the mid-and late 1990s, Fuerza Unida picketed the Levi Strauss headquarters in San Francisco and staged hunger strikes and sit-ins in protest of the company's labor policies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/fplpf.html |title=Fuerza Unida |work=Inmotionmagazine.com |access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/26/147.html |title=Fuerza Unida, Mujer a Mujer: Firsthand Account of Levi's |publisher=Hartford-hwp.com |access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zmag.org/levihunger.htm|title=Fuerza Unida|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011130173708/http://www.zmag.org/levihunger.htm |archive-date=November 30, 2001 }}</ref>

The company took on multibillion-dollar debt in February 1996 to help finance a series of leveraged stock buyouts among family members. At the time, shares in Levi Strauss stock were not publicly traded; as of 2016, the firm was owned almost entirely by indirect descendants and collateral relatives of Levi Strauss, whose four nephews inherited the San Francisco dry-goods firm after their uncle's death in 1902.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.levistrauss.com/Financials |title=Levi Strauss & Co. – Financials |publisher=LeviStrauss.com |access-date=March 16, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326004434/http://www.levistrauss.com/Financials/ |archive-date=March 26, 2010}}</ref> The corporation's bonds are traded publicly, as are shares of the company's Japanese affiliate, Levi Strauss Japan K.K.

In June 1996, the company offered to pay its workers an unusual dividend of up to $750 million in six years, having halted an employee-stock plan at the time of the internal family buyout. However, the company failed to make cash-flow targets, and no worker dividends were paid.<ref>{{cite news |title=Levi Strauss Offers To Pay A Dividend To Workers |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 13, 1996 |first=James |last=Sterngold}}</ref>

The annual sales of the brand increased in 1997 to reach $7.1 billion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40945709|title=How jeans giant Levi Strauss got its mojo back|last=Hotten|first=Russell|date=2017-09-25|agency=BBC News|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Later developments (2000–present)===
{{Proseline section|date=January 2024}}[[File:Levi's in Chadstone Shopping Centre 2017.JPG|thumb|upright=1|A Levi's store in Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia]]
[[File:Levi'sOutletStore.JPG|thumb|upright=1|A Levi's outlet store in Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ontario]]
In 2002, Levi Strauss began a close business collaboration with [[Company:Walmart|Walmart]], producing a special line of "Signature" jeans and other clothes for exclusive sale in Walmart stores until 2006.<ref name="cio_2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.cio.com/article/31948/Supply_Chain_Partnerships_How_Levi_s_Got_Its_Jeans_into_Wal_Mart |title=Supply Chain Partnerships: How Levi's Got Its Jeans into Wal-Mart |work=CIO.com |date=July 15, 2003 |access-date=March 16, 2010 |last=Girard |first=Kim |archive-date=April 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423040722/http://www.cio.com/article/31948/Supply_Chain_Partnerships_How_Levi_s_Got_Its_Jeans_into_Wal_Mart? |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2002, the company closed its Valencia Street plant in San Francisco, which had opened the same year of the city's April 1906 earthquake.<ref>{{cite news |title=Levi Strauss buttoning up its S.F. operations / Valencia Street factory to close by summer |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Levi-Strauss-buttoning-up-its-S-F-operations-2853739.php |first=Jenny |last=Strasburg | date=April 9, 2002 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=May 22, 2014}}</ref><ref name="nytsa2003" /> By the end of 2003, the closure of Levi's last U.S. factory in San Antonio ended 150 years of jeans made in the United States.<ref name="sclas">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uXtfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3597%2C2603574 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Levi Strauss closes last two U.S. plants |date=January 11, 2004 |page=2E}}</ref> Production of a few higher-end, more expensive styles of jeans resumed in the U.S. several years later.<ref name="nytsa2003" />

In 2002, Levi Strauss closed a number of factories worldwide and took direct control of the operations of GWG.<ref>The Globe and Mail, May 24, 2002, p. B10, Levi Strauss & Co. (Canada) to Resume Responsibility for GWG Brand Apparel.</ref> Attempts to make the GWG brand profitable again were not successful, and the Edmonton GWG factory, along with all remaining Levi Strauss factories in North America, closed in 2004.<ref name="thelevisera">{{cite web |author=Catherine C. Cole |year=2009 |title=Piece by Piece The GWG Story |url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/virtualExhibit/GWG/en/history/thelevisera.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716182027/http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/virtualExhibit/GWG/en/history/thelevisera.html |archive-date=2011-07-16 |accessdate=2010-11-24 |publisher=Royal Alberta Museum}}</ref>

By 2007, Levi Strauss was again profitable after declining sales in nine of the previous 10 years.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2007/07/11/wire-feed-levi-strauss-profit-up-home-depot-lowers-outlook/ |title=Levi Strauss profit up; Home Depot lowers outlook |newspaper=San Jose Mercury News |date=July 11, 2007 |access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> Its total annual sales of just over $4 billion were $3 billion less than during its peak performance<ref name="nytsa2003" /> in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-levi11apr11,1,293145.story |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090206120510/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-levi11apr11,1,293145.story |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |title=Levi Strauss earnings rise 61% in 1st quarter |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |date=August 26, 1985 |access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref> After more than two decades of family ownership, rumors of a possible public stock offering appeared in the media in July 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/07/11/PM200707114.html |title=Marketplace: Levi's may be dressed up to go public |work=Marketplace.publicradio.org |date=July 11, 2007 |access-date=March 16, 2010}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

{{As of|2007}}, Levi Strauss leads the apparel industry in trademark infringement cases, filing nearly 100 lawsuits against competitors over a six-year period from 2001.<ref name="suing">{{cite news |last1=Barbaro |first1=Michael |last2=Creswell |first2=Julie |date=January 29, 2007 |title=Levi's Turns to Suing Its Rivals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/29/business/29jeans.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 |access-date=September 27, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Most cases center on the alleged imitation of Levi's back pocket double arc stitching pattern (U.S. [[Social:Trademark|trademark]] No. 1,139,254), which Levi's filed for a trademark in 1978.<ref name="tarr">{{cite web |title=Latest Status Info |url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=registration&entry=1139254 |access-date=March 16, 2010 |publisher=Tarr.uspto.gov}}</ref> Levi's has successfully sued Guess, Polo Ralph Lauren, Esprit Holdings, Zegna, Zumiez, and Lucky Brand Jeans, among other companies.<ref name="suing" />

In 2010, the company partnered with Filson, an outdoor goods manufacturer in Seattle, to produce a high-end line of jackets and workwear.<ref>{{cite news|title= Filson signs clothing deal with Levi's|url= http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2010/08/02/daily16.html|work= Puget Sound Business Journal|access-date= April 21, 2012|date= August 3, 2010}}</ref>

In 2011, the firm hired Chip Bergh as the president and chief executive of the brand.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/chip-bergh/|title=Chip Bergh |work=Levi Strauss|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2017/09/28/how-the-retail-industry-can-learn-from-levi-strauss-transformation/#7edf67a745bf|title=How The Retail Industry Can Learn From Levi Strauss' Transformation|last=Loeb|first=Walter|work=Forbes|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en}}</ref> In that same year, they also established more than 20 different waterless manufacturing techniques, reducing the exceptionally high amounts of water used to create denim every year. Levi's is now the most sustainable brand of jeans in the world when it comes to water usage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.levi.com/US/en_US/blog/article/born-in-2011-still-saving-water|title=Born in 2011. Still Saving Water. &#124; Off The Cuff|website=www.levi.com}}</ref>

On May 8, 2013, the NFL's San Francisco 49ers announced that Levi Strauss & Co. had purchased the naming rights to their new stadium in Santa Clara, California. The naming rights deal called for Levi's to pay $220.3 million to the city of Santa Clara and to the 49ers over 20 years, with an option to extend the deal for another five years for around $75 million.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Mike|title=Levi's Stadium: 49ers' new Santa Clara home gets a name in $220 million deal|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/southbayfootball/ci_23198944/levis-stadium-49ers-new-santa-clara-home-gets?source=rss|access-date=May 8, 2013|newspaper=San Jose Mercury News|date=May 8, 2013}}</ref>

{{As of|2016}}, Levi Strauss Signature jeans are sold in 110 countries.<ref name=":0" /> In 2016, the company reported revenues of $4.6 billion.<ref name=":0"/>

On July 13, 2017, Levi Strauss heir Bill Goldman died in a private plane crash near Sonoma, California.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jta.org/2017/07/14/news-opinion/united-states/bill-goldman-38-historian-philanthropist-and-levi-strauss-heir-killed-in-plane-crash|title=Bill Goldman, 38, historian, philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir, killed in plane crash|agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=Jul 14, 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, Levi Strauss & Co. released a "smart jacket", an apparel they developed in partnership with [[Company:Google|Google]]. After two years of collaboration, the result was a denim jacket set at $350.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/26/jacquard-google-levis-smart-jacket-denim |title=Jacquard: Google and Levi's 'smart jacket' that you can only wash 10 times|date=2017-09-26|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In March 2019, Levi's debuted on the [[Company:New York Stock Exchange|New York Stock Exchange]] under the ticker "LEVI".<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/business/levis-jeans-ipo.html|title=Levi's, Whose Jeans Are a Rugged Symbol of Americana, Prepares to Go Public|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 18, 2019|last1=Maheshwari|first1=Sapna}}</ref> Levi Strauss was valued at $6.6 billion as its [[Finance:Initial public offering|IPO]] priced above the target.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-levi-strauss-ipo-idUSKCN1R12U5|title=Levi Strauss valued at $6.6 billion as IPO prices above target|date=2019-03-21|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-03-21|language=en}}</ref>

In September 2019, Levi's won final judgment on a trademark infringement in Guangzhou, China. The case centered on the "arcuate design on two pockets at the back of jeans", which has been protected in China since its registration there in 2005. The company won damages and costs in addition to a ban on future infringements. The infringer's ignorance of the trademark was no bar to punishment.<ref name="lex19">{{cite news |title=LEVI's Prevails in Double Arcs Trademark Infringement Case |url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1c49b0f4-9482-4ef0-91f9-eb2a2d7fb78a |agency=lexology |publisher=Law Business Research |date=16 September 2019}}</ref>

In 2019, Levi's became one of only two major clothing companies with commitments in line with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cernansky|first=Rachel|title=Only two big brands do enough to fight climate change, report claims|url=https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/fashion-climate-change-sustainability-standearth-paris-agreement|access-date=2021-05-05|website=Vogue Business|date=October 17, 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2020, Levi Strauss & Co. is expected to have completely replaced chemical usage to [[Physics:Laser|laser]]s in order to cut and design ripped parts of jeans.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/levis-wants-lasers-not-people-to-rip-your-jeans-1519740001|title=Levi's Wants Lasers, Not People, to Rip Your Jeans|first=Suzanne |last=Kapner |others=Christie Hemm Klok (photographs)|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=February 27, 2018|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref> In December 2019, the Engage for Good (formerly Cause Marketing Forum) organization awarded the company the Golden Halo Award for 2020<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://engageforgood.com/halo-awards/|title=Halo Awards – CSR Awards|website=Engage for Good|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-16}}</ref> for their advancements in corporate social impact.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecotextile.com/2019121325439/fashion-retail-news/levi-s-named-winner-of-golden-halo-award.html|title=Levi's named winner of Golden Halo Award|last=Glover|first=Simon|website=Ecotextile News|date=December 13, 2019 |language=en-GB|access-date=2019-12-16}}</ref>

On August 5, 2021, Levi Strauss & Co. announced the acquisition of Beyond Yoga, entering into the activewear market. They expect the acquisition will contribute to more than $100 million to net revenue per year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/05/levi-strauss-to-buy-yoga-apparel-brand-beyond-yoga-.html|title=Levi Strauss to buy apparel brand Beyond Yoga, launching into activewear|publisher=CNBC|date=August 5, 2021|language=en-US|access-date=2021-08-06}}</ref> It was announced senior executives are to speak with AI expert Blake Van Leer at the LA eCommerce Summit about their digital strategies and AI in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Speakers announced Los Angeles eCommerce Summit |url=https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/48144580/blake-van-leer-announced-the-speaker-for-the-los-angeles-ecommerce-summit |website=rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Los Angeles eCommerce Summit – Retail Summits |url=https://retailsummits.com/events/los-angeles-ecommerce-summit/ |website=retailsummits.com|date=March 21, 2023 }}</ref> It was announced in January 2023 that Levi will begin accepting old pairs of jeans to recycle into more denim in a campaign to go green.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Button |first1=Danni |title=Levi Strauss & Co. is Testing a New Compostable Package |url=https://www.thestreet.com/retailers/iconic-american-brand-goes-green-in-a-surprising-way |website=TheStreet |date=January 17, 2023 |language=en-us}}</ref> Levi's Autumn/Winter 2023 WellThread capsule aimed to show the brand's engagement to sustainability as it included items made from 100% transitional cotton as well as plant-based natural dyes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Levi’s Autumn/Winter 2023 WellThread collection is more than just a sustainable line |url=https://www.lofficielmalaysia.com/fashion/levi-s-autumn-winter-2023-wellthread-collection-more-than-just-sustainable |access-date=24 January 2024 |website=L'Officiel}}</ref>

==Cultural impact==
Levi's have been worn by people of all backgrounds – from miners to actors to Nobel Prize recipients. Marlon Brando and [[Biography:Albert Einstein|Albert Einstein]] wore Levi's, and Einstein's leather jacket was made by Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1930s and sold at auction house Christie's in July 2016 for £110,500.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stuartslondon.com/blog/2016/07/15/einsteins-levis-jacket-sells-for-over-110000/|title=Einstein's Levis Jacket Sold For Over £100k|work=Stuarts London}}</ref>

Levi's uses several dozen techniques to exclude competitors from its field, both in its garments and in its advertising and storefront presence. Amongst other techniques, its sewn patterns and garment labels distinguish it from competitor products. It also has fenced off several word marks, like "Levi's", "Red Tab", "Orange Tab", "Silvertab", "501", "505", "517", "550", "569": and "Dockers".<ref name="gerben">{{cite news |title=Levi's Trademarks |url=https://www.gerbenlaw.com/trademarks/apparel/levis/#72313992 |access-date=4 February 2021 |agency=Gerben Trademark Library |publisher=Gerben Perrott PLLC}}</ref> Taken together, these form part of what might be called the Levi's experience. For example, Levi's has used its "arcuate design" on the back pockets of its jeans since 1873. In 1943, the firm registered this design as a [[Social:Trademark|trademark]] at the USPTO. The arcuate design is one method it uses to exclude competition in the garment field as well as others. Levi's had trademarked this design in more than 100 jurisdictions as of 2019.<ref name=lex19 />

In 2022, it was reported that a pair of Levi's jeans from the 1880s found in an abandoned mine shaft was sold for $87,400 at an auction in New Mexico.<ref>{{cite web | url =https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/19th-century-levis-jeans-intl-scli/index.html|title=19th-century Levi's jeans found in mine shaft sell for more than $87,000|publisher=CNN| date=13 October 2022| accessdate =13 October 2022}}</ref> The vintage Levi's bore a label with the inscription "the only kind made by white labor", a detail which, notwithstanding its starkly racist message, helped date the jeans to the period between 1882, which was after the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning Chinese laborers seeking to immigrate to the U.S., and the 1890s, when the company "reversed [its] policy and company leaders began speaking out against the nation's racist policy".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-15 |title='Made by white labor': the vintage Levi's that point to America's dark past |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/oct/15/vintage-denim-jeans-chinese-exclusion-white-labor |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

==Corporate structure and staff==
[[File:Levi Plaza.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Levi's Plaza, corporate headquarters]]
Levi Strauss & Co. is a worldwide corporation organized into three geographic divisions: Levi Strauss Americas (LSA), which is headquartered in {{wipe|San Francisco}}; Levi Strauss Europe (LSE), which is based in Brussels; and Levi Strauss Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

Strauss passed the company to his nephews, the sons of David Stern, upon his death in 1902. Walter A. Haas, who married the daughter of David's fourth son, Sigmund Stern, became president in 1928, and the company remained under the ownership of the Stern-Haas family until first going public in 1971. However, in 1985, the Haas family recaptured ownership of the company, taking it private once again for the next 34 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Levi-Strauss-and-Co-Timeline.pdf|title=Levi Strauss & Co Timeline}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/12/business/levi-strauss-may-go-private.html|title=Levi Strauss May Go Private|first=Isadore|last=Barmash|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 12, 1985}}</ref> In February 2019, the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an [[Finance:Initial public offering|initial public offering]] to be traded on the [[Company:New York Stock Exchange|New York Stock Exchange]] under the [[Ticker symbol|ticker symbol]] LEVI.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lucas |first1=Amelia |title=Levi Strauss plans to go public — again. Files IPO under symbol LEVI |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/levi-strauss-files-for-ipo.html |access-date=February 13, 2019 |work=CNBC |date=February 13, 2019}}</ref><ref name=EDGAR>{{cite web |author1=Levi Strauss & Co. |title=Form S-1: Registration Statement under the Securities Act of 1933 |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/94845/000119312519037135/d632158ds1.htm |website=EDGAR |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |access-date=February 13, 2019 |date=February 13, 2019}}</ref> Levi Strauss went public for the second time in its history on March 21, 2019, at a price of $17 per share.

The company is also well known for promoting progressive causes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Levi Strauss & Co.'s Diversity Problem — And Our Plan to Fix It|url=https://www.levi.com/US/en_US/blog/article/levi-strauss-co-s-diversity-problem-and-our-plan-to-fix-it/|access-date=2020-10-08|website=Off The Cuff|language=en-US}}</ref> They were one of the earliest private sector institutions to support LGBTQ causes and, during the 2016 presidential campaign, donated $1 million to support immigration and LGBTQ rights. In 2018, CEO Chip Bergh published an op-ed in ''Fortune'' magazine, speaking out against gun violence.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bergh |first1=Chip |title=Why Business Leaders Need to Take a Stand on Gun Violence |url=http://fortune.com/2018/09/04/levi-strauss-gun-violence-parkland/ |work=Fortune |access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref>

In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company experienced a 62% fall in sales and recorded a $364 million loss. Corporate leadership responded by cutting 700 office jobs in the hopes of saving $100 million in expenses.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53329555|title=Levi's cuts 700 jobs due to falling sales|work=BBC News|date=July 7, 2000}}</ref>

==Current products==
As of 2019, the vast majority of Levi's are made overseas in a number of developing countries, such as Bangladesh, China, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Some styles in the "Levi's Premium" and "Levi's Vintage Clothing" lines are, however, made in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.levi.com/US/en_US/search/%22made%20in%20the%20usa%22|title=Levi Strauss.com|access-date=July 20, 2019}}</ref> The company produces much more than just jeans, including full lines of shirts, jackets, sweaters, underwear, socks, eyeglasses, accessories, dresses, skirts, and leather products. All jeans and pants are categorized by fit – skinny, slim, straight, bootcut, taper, relaxed, flare, and "big & tall" – identified by trademarked three digit numbers. The 501, the company's original modern design, is available in styles for both men and women. The rest of the 500 series is designed for men, and the 300, 400, 700, and 800 series are designed for women.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.levi.com/US/en_US|title=Levi Strauss.com|access-date=June 18, 2016}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Photo étiquette Levi's 501.jpg|Tag from a pair of Levi 501 button fly jeans
File:Levis (46055456934).jpg|Detail of the back of a pair of Levi jeans
</gallery>

==See also==
* Jean jacket
* List of fashion designers

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=32em|refs=
<ref name="forbes">{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/companies/levi-strauss-co/ |title=Levi Strauss & Co |work=Forbes |access-date=May 22, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="nytsa2003">{{cite news |title=Levi's set to close last U.S. factory |url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-10-19/news/0310190003_1_levi-strauss-blue-jeans-antonio |date=October 19, 2003 |agency=New York Times News Service |work=The Baltimore Sun |access-date=May 22, 2014}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
 | first = Carin T.
 | last = Ford
 | year = 2004
 | title = Levi Strauss: The Man Behind Blue Jeans (Famous Inventors)
 | publisher = Enslow Publishers
 | isbn = 0-7660-2249-8
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/levistraussmanbe0000ford
 }}
* {{cite book
 | first = Elizabeth
 | last = Van Steenwyk
 | year = 1988
 | title = Levi Strauss: The Blue Jeans Man
 | publisher = Walker
 | isbn = 0-8027-6795-8
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/levistraussbluej0000vans
 }}
* {{cite book
 | first= Ed
 | last = Cray
 | year = 1978
 | title = Levi's: The Shrink to Fit business that stretched to cover the world
 | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company
 | isbn = 0-395-26477-4
}}

==External links==
{{Finance links
| name = Levi Strauss & Co.
| symbol = LEVI
| reuters = LEVI.N
| bloomberg = LEVI:US
| sec_cik = LEVI
| yahoo = LEVI
| google = LEVI
}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Levi Strauss and Co.}}
[[Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]

{{Sourceattribution|Levi Strauss &amp; Co.}}