Sherwood News

Jeans giant Levi’s is pushing back its sales targets

Maybe Beyoncé can help the brand?

9/24/24 11:03AM

Levi Strauss is making some material changes — including resorting to plan Bey — in an effort to win back consumers following years of disappointing sales results.

New CEO Michelle Gass, appointed earlier this year, told the Financial Times that the company's existing revenue target of hitting $9-10 billion by the year 2027 would need to be pushed back, explaining that there’s been “a lot of disruption in the industry” since those goals were set in 2022.

Despite a relative bounce-back from the pandemic — jeans survived the shift to “comfort”, after all — the retailer’s revenues have since stagnated at ~$6 billion. And profits have tumbled: net income fell 56% to $250 million for the year to Nov 2023, continuing a long history of meagre sales growth.

Still the biggest name in the denim game, Levi’s has had to weather stiff competition in recent decades. This has squeezed its profit margin, which fell to a tight ~6% last year. Nonetheless, the success of the company’s direct-to-consumer segment will see hundreds more Levi’s stores open in the next few years in a bid to get back to growth.

Add to Carter

Gass also outlined her plan to reposition the brand to appeal to more women — who, today, only account for roughly one-third of Levi’s sales.

Indeed, Levi’s is trying to tap into its icon status to attract a broader range of customers. After featuring in a song title in Beyoncé’s latest album Cowboy Carter, Levi’s teased a collaboration with the superstar in an Instagram post yesterday… and tomorrow, Paris’ Le Marais district will see the opening of a ‘Haus of Strauss’ retail space, featuring made-to-order jeans that are set to cost some €595 ($663).

Go deeper: Why America Still Loves Jeans.

Max Knoblauch8h

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a 50% made-in-America requirement for USMCA tariff relief

Qualifying for USMCA-related lower tariffs may soon require more US-made vehicle components, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to introduce a 50% US content requirement for vehicles covered by the trade pact to receive lower tariffs. The content would be measured by cost, according to the WSJ.

There currently isn’t any US-specific requirement for those lower tariff rates, but in order to receive preferential tariffs, vehicles are must contain at least 75% regional content (components made in North America). Per Reuters reporting, the Trump admin is seeking to raise the regional requirement to 82%.

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Overall, Tesla will likely have the easiest time qualifying for any stricter requirements. The automaker’s vehicles contained the highest amount of US/Canadian content in 2025, according to American University research. Ford, GM, and Stellantis all scored lower.

Notably: the underlying government data that many domestic content measurements rely on intentionally combines US and Canadian components, so it’s difficult to know exactly how much of any given vehicle is specifically US-made.

Exclusive | Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Tom Jones14h

The $640,000 Luce makes the average Ferrari look like a bargain

Put aside the shape; put aside the smoothing out of Ferrari’s iconic sharp edges; put aside, even, the calls from former Chairman and President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo to “take the Prancing Horse off.” On the grounds of price alone, Luce detractors might have a point.

By now, many of us will have read the criticisms of Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle, as the Luce — which was unveiled to the world earlier this week and promptly saw the company’s shares crash out in New York and Milan — gets subtly shaded by competitors online and not-so-subtly shaded by basically everyone else.

What makes all of this worse for Ferrari is that, even by the luxury car maker’s notoriously high standards, they’ve slapped a pretty hefty price tag on the Luce, and the company’s CEO, Benedetto Vigna, has already been forced to defend the €550,000 ($640,000) price point, saying yesterday that it’s “fair to pay for innovation,” per Reuters.

While Ferrari’s cars have been getting more expensive of late, as recently as 2022, Ferrari’s average revenue per car sold was around $340,000. At nearly twice that price, this new electric model is obviously proving a little much (visually, conceptually, and financially) for many loyal and long-standing fans of the Prancing Horse to stomach.