OK, maybe it isn't such a big secret, but it was a revelation to me since I had never been inside of a JC Penney until a few weeks ago. And now that the gift hath been given, I can let the cat out of the bag:
JC Penney has tons of men's Levi's - all styles, colors, washes, etc. - for $33 a pair! And best news yet, they fit my recipient to a "T."
If you haven't been in the relatively new JC Penney in NYC, it's in the Manhattan Mall on 6th Ave. and 33rd St., not far from Macy's.
Showing posts with label Levi's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Levi's. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
BusinessWeek: Pricey Jeans Are So Passé
...I couldn't agree more. I visited Scoop on the Upper East Side the other week and tried on a couple of pairs of COH jeans, which each ran about $189. I have never spent more than $98 on jeans, and even that seemed ultimately insane to me (but it was at Club Monaco, so I let it slide). So instead I purchased some Levi's 545 Low Slim boot cut jeans at Sears for $19.99! No I am not kidding and no I am not insane. The only trick is that you have to travel outside of Manhattan to find this "Sears" that you may have heard about in Beastie Boys songs of yore. But these jeans fit me better than most. Check 'em out before they are all gone (see photo)!July 23, 2007
FASHION
Looking to trim her two-dozen-pair collection of designer jeans, Julie Mathis, a Los Angeles public relations executive, recently tried to sell her $400 Antik Denim jeans to a local secondhand shop. She figured the store would snap them up. It didn't. "They were like: Nobody's wearing these anymore,'" Mathis says. The five-year-old denim craze, which has juiced sales for apparel makers and department stores alike, looks to be fading at last. Sales of women's jeans declined 1.8% last year, to $7.5 billion, the first pullback in five years, says market researcher NPD Group. Two years ago the women's jeans business was on a double-digit tear, driven largely by the premium category of $100-plus jeans. Blame consumer fatigue and an influx of cheap jeans that even connoisseurs acknowledge aren't half bad. Denim crazes have come and gone. Los Angeles-based 7 For All Mankind kicked off the latest frenzy in 2000 with its $114 derrière-hugging jeans. Before long, tony Italian and Japanese denim became commonplace, and regular folk were obsessing over styles (boot cut vs. flare), washes (dark denim vs. stonewash), and elaborate embellishments (Swarovski crystals on the rear). Paying $200 for a garment with blue-collar roots became as acceptable as laying out $3.50 for a Starbucks Venti Latte.It's been a great ride. True Religion Apparel in Los Angeles had sales of $139 million last year, a fivefold increase from 2004. The company generated operating margins of 28% last year. Polo Ralph Lauren managed 15%; Liz Claiborne, 9%.Perhaps the premium brands should have figured out that things were winding down when industry stalwart Levi Strauss finally got its mojo working again, launching new lines last year that have eaten into sales of designer jeans. True Religion's sales inched up just 1.5% in the first quarter of this year, to $36 million. Sales for Blue Holding, makers of the Antik brand, fell 28% in the same period.Another hit came when inexpensive but stylish denim caught fire in Europe. Cheap Monday, a brand hatched by a Stockholm clothing store that led the way, are now available in the U.S. at fancy boutiques for a relatively inexpensive $65 a pair. Other companies are following in lockstep. J.C. Penney will start selling $35 jeans this fall from Los Angeles designers Chip & Pepper. And Guess is selling $50 jeans at its new, lower-priced G by Guess chain. Meanwhile, women are diverting their denim dollars to dresses and bags. True Religion now sells shoes and shirts; 7 For All Mankind, $500 purses. Both also offer sweaters and jackets. Loretta Soffe, head of women's apparel for Nordstrom, says the designers have yet to prove they can make the transition. "I'm not going to lie to you," she says. "Their expertise is in denim."
By Christopher Palmeri
Friday, January 12, 2007
Levis: On the Comeback Trail?
Hi all. I just read the following article in USA Today about how Levi's sales are gaining after a near-decade in decline. They attribute this turnaround to, among other things, Levi's "skinny jeans" for women. While that's all well and good, I visited the Levi's store on Lexington near Bloomingdale's a couple of months ago to check the skinnys out. I can't tell you if they were a good cut or fit or not because THEY COST $151 so I refused to even try them on. For me, Levi's skinny jean strategy is a good one for other retailers, such as Club Monaco that are charging a mere $98 for similar jeans. Prior, the thought of paying more than $50 for jeans had seemed outrageous to me, but now $98 seems like a steal!
And in similar skinny news (from a Reuters article): Gap's skinny black pants -- promoted as a new trend -- have ended up on the discount rack for $9.99, and some see mixed messages in marketing campaigns featuring rappers on one hand and deceased style icon Audrey Hepburn on the other.
The skinny conundrum continues...
Levi's fashions new outlook in ads, jeans
By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Levi Strauss finally ironed out the wrinkles in 2005 after an eight-year slump.
After nearly a decade of sales declines, the company reported a 1% gain in fiscal 2005. Sales have chugged along since, and the company posted year-over-year profit gains of 14%, 50% and 29% in the first three quarters of fiscal 2006. "Things are finally turning the corner," says Amy Jasmer, director of publicity and promotion.
Among Levi's changes:
•New styles. Levi's was ready for the return to skinny and straight leg jeans last year. It promoted its 501 as the original straight leg for men. The new 504 is skinny and straight for women. "For years we took our eye off of innovation," Jasmer says. "We weren't putting out the most stylish jeans."
•New TV ads. Spots by longtime agency BBH, N.Y., gave some edge to Levi's image. One features a young man and woman walking a "straight line" through city streets, over obstacles, to meet. The music is a remake of Johnny Cash's I Walk the Line.
In a second ad, a man watching live TV news recognizes that a fleeing criminal is trying to steal his Levi's from the clothesline. He runs into his yard to catch him.
"The main objective of the advertising is to make sure we are consistently building the brand image," says Talbot Logan, group account director of BBH. "We've seen the brand gain strength in image, share and sales."
•More stores. Levi's is expanding its retailing unit to reach younger shoppers who favor specialty stores such as American Eagle. It has gone from seven stores in 2004 to 28 stores last year and plans to open more this year. A year ago, it returned to online sales; it sold online briefly several years ago.
•New CEO. John Anderson, a 27-year Levi Strauss veteran, took over as CEO in November after Phil Marineau, CEO since 1999, retired.
Though the Levi's brand has made great strides, the baby boom icon needs to make a stronger connection with younger consumers.
"We want to make sure we don't alienate older consumers who have been with us," Jasmer says. "But by virtue of denim we're trying to bring in new consumers."
That vital because the 18- to 24-year-olds buy more denim than any other age group, according to retail tracker NPD Group. That age group accounted for 33% of the $8.6 billion spent on denim in the year ended in October.
"There is still an opportunity for the brand to show this consumer that there is a range of styles and fits that look great on them," says BBH's Logan.
Results of Ad Track, USA TODAY's weekly consumer survey, indicate that the agency's latest ads haven't grabbed those younger consumers for Levi's just yet.
Overall, 17% of adults familiar with the ads like them "a lot" vs. the Ad Track average of 21%. But just 13% in the 18-to-24 age group gave them the top mark vs. 24% in the 40-to-49 group
Believing that the way it currently is spending its ad budget may not be in line with younger consumers, Levi's is rethinking how and where it puts marketing dollars.
In the fall the company opened four temporary stores on college campuses and sponsored a promotion that picked a handful of college students to be featured in a print ad campaign in the spring.
Also, this year Levi's will start to shift some ad dollars away from TV to new media that offer interactivity and that attract its sought-after young adults.
"We're looking at a small change and trying to be a little more engaging," Jasmer says.
And in similar skinny news (from a Reuters article): Gap's skinny black pants -- promoted as a new trend -- have ended up on the discount rack for $9.99, and some see mixed messages in marketing campaigns featuring rappers on one hand and deceased style icon Audrey Hepburn on the other.
The skinny conundrum continues...
Levi's fashions new outlook in ads, jeans
By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Levi Strauss finally ironed out the wrinkles in 2005 after an eight-year slump.
After nearly a decade of sales declines, the company reported a 1% gain in fiscal 2005. Sales have chugged along since, and the company posted year-over-year profit gains of 14%, 50% and 29% in the first three quarters of fiscal 2006. "Things are finally turning the corner," says Amy Jasmer, director of publicity and promotion.
Among Levi's changes:
•New styles. Levi's was ready for the return to skinny and straight leg jeans last year. It promoted its 501 as the original straight leg for men. The new 504 is skinny and straight for women. "For years we took our eye off of innovation," Jasmer says. "We weren't putting out the most stylish jeans."
•New TV ads. Spots by longtime agency BBH, N.Y., gave some edge to Levi's image. One features a young man and woman walking a "straight line" through city streets, over obstacles, to meet. The music is a remake of Johnny Cash's I Walk the Line.
In a second ad, a man watching live TV news recognizes that a fleeing criminal is trying to steal his Levi's from the clothesline. He runs into his yard to catch him.
"The main objective of the advertising is to make sure we are consistently building the brand image," says Talbot Logan, group account director of BBH. "We've seen the brand gain strength in image, share and sales."
•More stores. Levi's is expanding its retailing unit to reach younger shoppers who favor specialty stores such as American Eagle. It has gone from seven stores in 2004 to 28 stores last year and plans to open more this year. A year ago, it returned to online sales; it sold online briefly several years ago.
•New CEO. John Anderson, a 27-year Levi Strauss veteran, took over as CEO in November after Phil Marineau, CEO since 1999, retired.
Though the Levi's brand has made great strides, the baby boom icon needs to make a stronger connection with younger consumers.
"We want to make sure we don't alienate older consumers who have been with us," Jasmer says. "But by virtue of denim we're trying to bring in new consumers."
That vital because the 18- to 24-year-olds buy more denim than any other age group, according to retail tracker NPD Group. That age group accounted for 33% of the $8.6 billion spent on denim in the year ended in October.
"There is still an opportunity for the brand to show this consumer that there is a range of styles and fits that look great on them," says BBH's Logan.
Results of Ad Track, USA TODAY's weekly consumer survey, indicate that the agency's latest ads haven't grabbed those younger consumers for Levi's just yet.
Overall, 17% of adults familiar with the ads like them "a lot" vs. the Ad Track average of 21%. But just 13% in the 18-to-24 age group gave them the top mark vs. 24% in the 40-to-49 group
Believing that the way it currently is spending its ad budget may not be in line with younger consumers, Levi's is rethinking how and where it puts marketing dollars.
In the fall the company opened four temporary stores on college campuses and sponsored a promotion that picked a handful of college students to be featured in a print ad campaign in the spring.
Also, this year Levi's will start to shift some ad dollars away from TV to new media that offer interactivity and that attract its sought-after young adults.
"We're looking at a small change and trying to be a little more engaging," Jasmer says.
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