While Levi Strauss & Co. prepped its fashion-forward Beyoncé Cowboy Carter collection, its designers were quietly working on functional staples for real cowboys.
Like a lot of retailers, the San Francisco company has leaned into western style trends, though mostly through trendy, high-end products, including crystal-studded jackets, denim corsets and $325 jeans made in Japan. Now, America's first denim brand is rolling out new products aimed at the blue-collar shoppers who first helped Levi become a household name for affordable workwear.
In 2022, Levi set a goal of hitting $10 billion in annual revenue. While other specialty retailers' shares have plunged this year, Levi's shares are up more than 23%. The company has been able to drive sales, which have been up on a year-over-year basis for the past five straight quarters. But it's still more than $3.5 billion short of that ambitious revenue goal.
Investors "want to see Levi's grab a larger share of wallets," said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData. And they're specifically looking for continued growth in the company's core US market, he said.
As part of its push to get to $10 billion, under Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass, Levi has identified blue-collar men in rural areas as its next big customer opportunity. The brand launched in the 19th century as a line of workwear catering to miners and ranchers, but over time, much smaller competitors such as Ariat, Carhartt and Wrangler have become the go-tos for this demographic.
Just over 93 million Americans, or about 61% of the labor force in 2023, were considered working class, according to a recent analysis by the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress.
"There are a ton of cowboys in the world, but the big market is the blue collar every day electrician, plumber, farmer, rancher," said Anthony Scholl, head of US western accounts. "This is a major market share opportunity for Levi."
Levi has released two new cuts, the western boot cut and western straight, which are both able to fit over work boots, to better appeal to this customer profile. The jeans will be $59, about $10 below most of its other core styles. The price tag also puts the jeans below similar products from competitors Wrangler and Ariat.
To capture shoppers looking for workwear, Levi is bringing its full assortment to the majority of Boot Barn stores, where it used to only sell about 10% of its products. In addition, Levi is going to be sold at Cavender's, a Texas-born western retailer, said Scholl, who added that the plan is to put the product in all of its doors. The brand has also been sponsoring rodeos with plans to amp up its presence at Cowboy Christmas, a trade show held annually in Las Vegas.
Shaboozey, a country and hip-hop singer, and chef and actor Matty Matheson are the faces of a new men's campaign, which features both on horseback.
Even the Levi leadership team is getting into the spirit of the launch. At a recent meeting in Dallas, executives went line dancing and Gass picked up a pair of red cowboy boots from a Boot Barn."This is the core of our business," she said of the men's category.