India is Levi’s largest market in Asia, brand optimistic about fast forward growth

11 October 2023, Mumbai

America’s iconic denim jeans Levi’s is the number one brand in the world, selling the most number of units compared to competitors such as Wrangler, Lee, Calvin Klein amongst others in the middle-price range.

However, in India popularity wise, Levi’s ranks third and is classified as a premium brand. Levi's entered Indian market in 1994 through a wholly-owned subsidiary Levi Strauss India. And nearly 30 years later, the American denim brand has over 500 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) spread across the country.

Multimodal approach

Levi’s in India also retails from multi-brand outlets (MBOs) such as Pantaloons and Shoppers Stop. And as Michelle Gass, the President of Levi Strauss & Co. says, India is sixth largest global market for the brand and the number one within Asia.

Gass is confident of the tremendous growth Levi’s is experiencing as it has increased 50 per cent post pandemic and there is a great potential to become the most preferred American jeans in the country as youth make up over half of its 1.4 billion population.

India largest Asian market and talent hub

Fiscal 2022 was a bonanza for Levi Strauss & Company in India as it increased its net sales by a whopping 58 per cent to Rs 1,154 crore – it should be noted that the Levi Strauss Co’s revenues in India are on sales that are accounted at wholesale prices to franchise partners. Gass says, India is primarily a franchise market and the local team did a good in curating a diverse Levi’s product portfolio of tops and bottoms, driven by Levi’s international design team as well as the local production capabilities.

Gass also acknowledged that the Indian franchisees are its major success element as they not only believe in the Levi’s brand and its potential here but also putting in the right mix of efforts to popularize it across the diverse population of the country.

Sequence of events

During the pandemic-led lockdown, most franchisees invested in the brand’s retail store square footage across the most reputable and popular malls to leverage long-term opportunities. Keeping in mind the role of franchisees in its success story in India, the company has filtered down the most committed and serious players to a manageable 25 compared to 80 in the past – the strategy is to focus on servicing and strengthening the best partnerships as Levi’s grows in leaps and bounds.

The company also opened 100 per cent owned outlets which are slightly larger than the usual 2,000 square feet EBOs in India. As Levi’s globally has an extended portfolio beyond denim, a large part of its marketing effort since 2022 has been in promoting its non-denim line of clothing and accessories.

India, China and Japan bolster Asian performance

CFO Harmit Singh is confident that with India in the lead, the Levi’s brand will continue a stellar run across Asia – the overall growth in Asia has achieved a greater expansion of its operating margin in the continent with a 330 basis points increase, reaching 12.3 per cent.

Singh points out the company achieved robust Asian growth of 18 per cent and will continue focusing on its three key markets, namely India, China and Japan. China contributes 3 per cent to Levi Strauss & Co’s total revenues.

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