Levi’s CEO Michelle Gass says women are its next frontier

From the gold miners of the 1840s to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Levi Strauss has been the denim brand of choice for iconic American entrepreneurs for nearly two centuries — most of them male.

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The company is now trying to tilt that demographic mix in the opposite direction. If there were one major gap in Levi’s sales portfolio — and thus a potential source of untapped growth — it is sales to women, who barely make up 40% of company receipts, CEO Michelle Gass said.

That’s despite more than half the company’s employees being female. Gass, the company’s first-ever female chief executive, said Levi’s is seeking to evolve beyond jeans to become a major force in women’s apparel with items like denim skirts and blouses.

“We’re still under-serving the female consumer,” Gass said in an interview for NBC News’ Business in America series.

“There’s been so many eras and chapters for Levi’s, and here today, while we’re so in tune and honoring that legacy, we also see a huge chapter ahead of us,” said Gass.

If Levi’s stock price is an indication, Gass is ushering Levi’s successfully into that next chapter. Since the company announced Gass’s hire in November 2022, Levi’s stock has climbed nearly 50% to more than $23 per share.

Last year, Levi’s raked in $6.4 billion in net sales, its best 12-month stretch since 1997, as athleisure fatigue has given way to the stirrings of a denim revival. On Wednesday, the company reported revenues of $1.56 billion for the second-quarter, beating Wall Street’s expectations and putting it on track to top last year’s annual sales.

For an apparel brand synonymous with America’s history, Gass is quick to emphasize that today Levi’s is a global brand, with approximately 60% of company sales coming from overseas.

Alongside a brand partnership with Beyoncé, who penned a paean to Levi’s on her most recent album, the company has also recruited a Bollywood star and top European and British influencers — most of them female — to sport their looks.

Levi’s also appears to be riding a cresting wave of newfound interest in baggy jeans and denim jackets, especially among Gen Z women.

“There’s so much more we can do in this, call it head to toe, always anchored in denim,” Gass said.

Levi’s is also benefiting from the bifurcation of the economy itself: First-quarter sales of its premium denim line, Blue Tab, were up 40%, while that of its Signature line aimed at lower-income consumers climbed 16% — though this also reflects the fact that Levi’s possesses a significant customer base of middle and lower income consumers.

Long tied to the shelves of big-box retailers like Macy’s, Levi’s is now leaning into direct-to-consumer sales by doubling down on standalone stores and investing in its website, including adding an AI shopping agent, Gass said. “

Consumers really do like buying directly from us,” she said. “Where I get really excited is this is where we can bring the fullest expression of the Levi’s brand, especially now as we move forward to head-to-toe denim lifestyle.”

That strategy is not without risks, as another iconic American brand has shown: Nike is in the midst of a generational sales funk that now has it on the verge of closing the majority of its flagship stores.

And as strong as its performance has been, Levi’s stock gains nonetheless trail rivals Abercrombie and Fitch and Gap over the past three years.

Gass is unbowed.

“We’ve never been frozen in time, and it’s always about continuing to evolve, to elevate, and to expand who we are without losing the core of what we represent,” she said.