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Executive Summery
We have created a new marketing plan for Levi’s 501 original
fit jeans. Our plan will provide us with a guild that will help
our product out sale the competition and achieve our
objective of increasing sales by six percent.
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Company Description
Levi Strauss was founded in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi
Strauss in 1853, we created the very first pair of jeans. Today, products, are
sold under the Levi’s®, Dockers®, Denizen®, and Signature by Levi Strauss
& Co.™
Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest apparel companies and a
global leader in jeans. The Levi's® brand is just part of our story. Levi
Strauss is also home to Dockers®. There are some 500 stores, and our
products are available in 110 countries around the world.
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Smart Objective
>Increase the sell of Levi 501 Jeans 6% by April 1st 2014<
Increase Distribution> Place
Tactics
1. Get a full list of outlets that are currently carrying the 501 jean by
11/7/2013
2. Meet with the Director of Logistics by 11/09/2013
3. Brainstorm about effective distribution methods by 11/10/2013
4. Set up meeting with major distribution channels to discuss ways of improving
delivery times by 12/01/2014
5. Increase production 15% by 1/01/2014
6. Close deal with overseas retailers that aren’t currently selling Levis 501 jeans
by 1/01/2014
7. Meet with marketing team to discuss production opportunities by 12/1/2013
Increase Promotions> Promotion
Tactics
1. Meet with promotions team by November 2, 2013
2. Create budget for promotions by November 4, 2013
3. Create storyboard for commercial by November 2013
4. Release a press release by November 10, 2013
5. Start Holiday Special by November 12,2013
6. Create commercial by November 20, 2013
7. Sponsor four events by December 15, 2013
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Decrease Price> Price
Tactics
1. Set up meeting to discuss pricing strategy by 11/12/2013
2. Get a full list of all competitor products and their prices by 11/12/2013
3. Decrease price to $48.00 by 11/18/2013
4. Brainstorm how to effectively cut costs by 11/22/2013
5. Get full list of Allowances and Discounts by 11/22/2013
6. Decrease Price to $44.00 12/01/2013
7. Decrease Price to $40.00 04/01/2014
Change Product Image> Product
Tactics
1. Tactic 1: Meet with marketing team to discuss ideas for enhancing the appeal
of the product by 11/23/13
2. Tactic 2: Get a list of top 10 designer competitors 11/27/13
3. Tactic 3: Get a list of the top 10 designers of jeans, that are willing to work
with Levis to work on the redesign of Levis 501 Jean by 12/2/2013
4. Tactic 4: Brainstorm ways on improving Levis 501 by 12/25/2013
5. Tactic 5: Introduce product images and mock ups of the “Classic American
look” 1/15/14
6. Tactic 6:Develop the “skinny jean and boot cut” style option for 501 2/15/14
7. Tactic 7: Communicate and deliver the benefits of the quality and design of
the Levi 501’s 2/20/14
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Situation Analysis
There are many different factors that will impact Levi’s product marketing plan. The
economic environment has been slow over the past couple of years, especially in Europe.
Recently the economy has been has picking up, and the apparel industry that had seen
sluggish growth over the past years has been coming back as well, which will positively
affect Levi’s sales. With some of our focus centered around increasing sales in Europe this
slow, but steady economic growth will bring stronger sales for the region in the future.
There have also been challenging market conditions in some of our Asian based stores
and retailers, which caused us to exit certain portions of the region. But we with
increasing disposable income in India and China there is still much hope for this area.
The apparel environment is becoming more and more competitive at both the brick-and-
mortal level as well as increasing competition from online vendors.
Levi’s is has a pension fund valued at $1,388,700,000, which is 35%, underfunded which
decreases its competitive advantage due to these cash requirements. Online retail sales in
the U.S grew to 224 billion in 2012. If Levi can market and sell strongly in this
exponentially growing online environment it will mean increased sales for the future.
In the political realm Levi’s faces challenges with laws and regulations in some foreign
jurisdictions. With so much clout surrounding labor, working conditions, and
environmental protection many retail manufacturer’s are at risk. Though there are
regulations and standards in place, uncertainty can harm a company if some violations
were to occur.
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Strengths
1.Strong Brand Name and popular top-of-the-mind brand
2. Expertise in Jeans Industry
3. Distribution Channels and Global Outsourcing
4.Finance and Access to International Capital
5. Has over 470 self operated stored globally managed by 16000+ employees
6.Levi’s marketing includes retro popular songs in its TVC ad campaigns
7.Over 60 and 25 manufacturing plants in US and abroad respectively
8. Brand Recognition
9. Strong operating performance despite a unsteady economy
10. Global Footprint
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Weaknesses
1.High Pressures of Brand Protection
2. Increasing competition means limited scope for growth
3. Lack of overall quality (licensing)
4.Lack of control over distribution decisions (Retailers pressures to stop selling on the
Web)
5. Distribution conflicts
6. Heavy pension expenses increase vulnerability to financial markets
7.Substantial portion of revenues are realized from the top ten wholesale customers.
8. A rapidly changing apparel market increases uncertainty
9. Soft sales in Europe
10. Loss of luster to younger generation.
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Opportunities
1.Growing casual wear market
2. Low manufacturing and production costs in various international markets
3. Increasing acceptability of western wear across the world
4. Arising of new markets such as Central Europe and Russia
5. Technological development lower production and coordination activities
6. Opportunities in arising markets such as China and India
7. Increasing online retail sales
8. Extending leadership in jeans and khakis through innovation and consumer focus helps
Levi’s to develop its brand globally
9. Strong social marketing could increase sales
10. Total apparel industry is growing
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Threats
1.Fast changing consumer tastes
2.Lack of protection of property rights in some countries like China
3.Increasing Competition and Product Substitution
4. Saturation of Jeans' Market
5. Competition from products of the higher end of the market i.e. Mochino and D&G
6. Economic downturns in some countries
7. Local regulations on advertisement such as the case when Levi's had to hire the
services of a Brazilian ads company to release TV ads; and the increase tariff and non-
tariff barriers.
8. Dependent on contract manufacturers for product procurement, manufacturing, and
finishing.
9. Laws and regulations.
10. No long term contracts with wholesalers that buy the largest portion could hurt their
future sales
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Competition
Lee Mercantile Company was founded by Henry David Lee in 1889, when Lee opened his
first garment factory in Salina, Kansas, producing dungarees and jackets. Lee Jeans is a
leading international retailer and manufacturer of denim wear and casual wear.
Headquartered in Merriam, Kansas, near Kansas City, Lee currently employs more than 400
people across the United States. Lee Jeans' parent company, the VF Corporation, is the
largest publicly held apparel company in the world.
We believe that though Lee is a well-known jean producer we can better them in quality. By
having a price set higher than Lee we can give off the image that our brand of jeans is superior
in quality.
Wrangler® is enduring American freedom; it's in the spirit of people who work hard, have fun
and recognize courageous individuality. As a company, they believe in solid commitments and
perseverance in the face of obstacles and challenges. Most of all, they respect themselves, each
other, their western heritage and the environment in which they live. They value their
customers, and strive for full customer satisfaction. Each item they manufacture carries a one-
year warranty, which covers actual defects in materials or workmanship. This warranty is a
statement of Wrangler's continuing commitment to high standards of quality.
Wrangler takes the rugged Cowboy approach to marketing their jeans. This angle someone
intermixes with our image promotion of the all American brand. Similar to Lee, we believe
that we have a better quality product and pricing our jeans above their will demonstrate this.
We may not be able to take away any of their die-hard American cowboys, we believe in the
international market we will be able to best them because our brand is less image specific.
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As one of the world’s leading premium lifestyle brands, Tommy Hilfiger delivers superior
styling, quality and value to consumers worldwide. The brand celebrates the essence of Classic
American Cool and provides a refreshing twist to the preppy fashion genre.
Since its debut in 1985, the Tommy Hilfiger Group has become a US$ 4.6 billion apparel and
retail company by offering consumers a breadth of beautifully designed, high quality products
including men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, sportswear, denim, and a range of licensed
products such as accessories, fragrances and home furnishings.Tommy Hilfiger today has
become a global brand with strong recognition and a distribution network in over 90 countries
and more than 1,000 retail stores throughout North America, Europe, Central and South
America and Asia Pacific.
Tommy Figure is a prominent retail company that has a focus on all types of higher-end
products sold at a premium price. Their jeans are more fancy and colorful. We believe that by
keeping our core focus on our classic denim jeans we can better them in this specific market.
Calvin Klein, Inc. is one of the leading fashion design and marketing studios in the world. It
designs and markets women’s and men’s designer collection apparel and a range of other
products that are manufactured and marketed through an extensive network of licensing
agreements and other arrangements worldwide. Product lines under the various Calvin Klein
brands include women’s dresses and suits, men's dress furnishings and tailored clothing, men’s
and women's sportswear and bridge and collection apparel, golf apparel, jeanswear,
underwear, fragrances, eyewear, women’s performance apparel, hosiery, socks, footwear,
swimwear, jewelry, watches, outerwear, handbags, small leather goods, and home furnishings
(including furniture).
Calvin Klein will be one of our most difficult competitors. They have a more upscale and
trendy look. We are the classic company that is trying to gain some market share by promoting
a newer fresher look. Calvin Klein has a different target market then we do, but offers quality
jeans priced a smaller amount above ours, but has varying price ranges. If we promote our
product to this younger and trendier demographic in the correct way, we will be able to take
some market share away from Calvin Klein.
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Target Market
Levis Jeans demographic segment are 20-24 year old, white male and female, college
students, with income in the range of $30,000-$45,000. Our psychographic
segmentation includes young men and women that are outgoing, strivers, that are
apart of the upper class, Generation Y. Our target customer spends a great deal of
time at live music events. The genre of music that these people listen to is rock, hip-
hop, and trap music. They read GQ, Men’s Fitness magazine, and US weekly. Watch
ESPN and shows such as Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Voice, Broke Girls, and
Modern Family. A large amount of their time is spent engaging with friends and
family via social media. The geographic areas that we will target are urban settings
like River North, and West Loop. These people shop at stores such as, Macy’s,
Nordstrom, and Bloomingdales.
Integrated Marketing mix
The slogan that embodies our theme for the marketing mix is, “ Levis… Bringing
back the all American look,” we believe that through aggressive advertising and
promotions, we’ll be able to position Levis 501 jeans in a way that will drew on the
emotional appeal of Americans and also grab the attention of those in our overseas
markets; that are looking for ways to capture the classic American look. Secondly,
because Americans have become a lot more
conscious of their spending, we have
implemented a competitive pricing strategy.
By using this pricing strategy we’ll be able
to gain a larger market share by cutting the
price of the product, while still giving our
target customers the same quality. In order
to stress the value of our products, the jeans
will be sold in upscale stores around the.
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Pricing
Our Company, Levi’s, will be pursuing a competitive pricing strategy. We are choosing
this strategy to gain market share. With one of our tactics centering around expanding
our brand in overseas markets we believe that lowering the price will increase market
share in these areas. These lower prices will attract more people to our brand that is less
prominent overseas than it is at home. At these decreased prices we believe that we can
take customers away from some of our competitors. We will participate in frequent
promotional pricing in order to get as much traffic into the store that we can in order to
promote and show everyone our that Levi’s is still a strong and prominent brand.
In our specific distribution area for the stores located in the city of Chicago we will sell
the jeans at a slightly higher price of $50. Seeing as it is an urban and expensive area to
live people will be willing to pay this higher price for our jeans.
The price decrease of $8 will also be applied to our distributors, such as Macy’s, and
Nordstrom’s.
We will give a 5% quantity discount to retailers that buy 100 jeans or more.
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Product
Levi 501 jeans are classified as a shopping product, meaning that the pricing, quantity,
and style characteristics must be acknowledged of our various competitors as these can
have a huge impact on consumer behavior in our market. Levi jeans are made to ensure
that they last for a long time. Unlike our competitor’s product, Levi’s 501 are made with
durable materials that are less likely to tear. Although our jeans are higher quality, the
pricing still lower when compared to competitors such as Calvin Klein. We offer
numerous styles and shades that cater the preference of each individual. Since a brand’s
name and reputation are crucial in marketing, as a shopping product we heavily depend
on the fact that Levi’s is a known as a reputable, classic American company.
Through increasing promotions, decreasing price, and entering upscale department
stores the Levi 501 branding will gain recognition in a younger, upper class target
market. Also, although new consumers are the aim, old and new consumers will be
exposed to Levi’s new style and image. The look
the company is marketing and reinforcing the
product as the trusted Classic American brand.
Additionally, we will also be introducing
the “skinny” jean fit to the Levi 501 brand for
female consumers. We are implementing an
exclusive distribution method. Rather than selling
to lower end retailers like Kohl and JCPenny’s, we
plan to sell to upscale distributors such as,
Nordstrom’s and Macy’s.
We seek to change our product positioning by
reintroducing the attributes of style and versatility
our product offers. Brand equity will help reach
this goal since Levi’s is a very well-known brand
due to its long standing in the market. To add to
existing customers, we hope to increase the appeal
to people who have not ever bought the product.
Our denim is in the maturity stage of the product
life cycle so we are constantly seeking ways to differentiate and promote our product
from our competitors by increasing our demand. We seek to spur and attract new
demand from young, trendier individuals for our line in an attempt to further
differentiate ourselves the in our competitive environment. While Levi’s product mix is
extensive, our line focuses on developing younger males and female market while still
maintaining close ties with Levi’s other products.
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Distribution
Levi’s manufacture will ship 501 jeans to retailers throughout the United States, but
plans to sell the jeans directly to a selective group of retailers in overseas markets. By
doing so, we believe that it’ll give our team the opportunity to better capture the
attention of our overseas target market, which will lead to increase sells.
Secondly, we will implement an exclusive distribution method, which means that we
plan to allow only certain outlets to carry Levis 501 jeans. By doing so, this will make
our jeans more desirable by our target market. Rather than selling to lower end retailers
such as, Kohl, Sears, and JC Jenny’s, the product will be sold in upscale stores like
Nordstrom’s and Macy’s.
As an incentive for our channel members to purchase more Levis 501 jeans, there will be
a point system put in place that would allow distributors to earn credit for every order
that they place that can be redeemed for cash. This opportunity will make the
intermediaries more likely to take a chance on keeping the jeans in stock.
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Promotion
Our advertising plan is to create advertisements and continuous promotions in order to
target a new market. Our new target market is white males and females from the age of
twenty to twenty four all around the world who want the Classic American Style. We
plan to advertise continuously using social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and
Twitter. Levis advertising will include International icons such as soccer superstars,
music artists, actors and actresses showing off the Classic American Style.
Advertisements will also be shown on television with the intention to reach a wide
number of persons in our new target market. Levis will be showing commercials on
ESPN, Rai TV, Foxsports, Eurosport and Goal TV. Appearing in Levis commercials
are soccer stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Levis commercials will
also be shown on MTV and during popular shows such as Breaking Bad, Mad Men,
The Voice, Broke Girls, and Modern Family.
Levis is going to hit the target market hard with social media. Pictures of popular
artists, actors and actresses wearing the Levis product will be found in posts on
Instagram and Facebook. Pictures of Brad Pitt, Kanye West and Emma Watson
wearing the Levis product will increase followers of Levis on social media. Advertising
through social media is an inexpensive but effective marketing plan. Levis will sponsor
athletes in sports like hockey, basketball, soccer, football and baseball. This
advertising tactic can be expensive but extremely effective among fans. Levis will also
sponsor events such as walks for cancer and other diseases. Positive exposure like walks
for a good cause will lead to positive exposure within the community.
On holidays such as Veterans Day, Memorial day and the Fourth of July Levis will be
running promotions internationally two weeks prior to the event. During the
promotion an exclusive pair of Jeans will be available for sale in stores at a discounted
price. Online purchases will be discounted thirty percent. The unique pair of jeans will
be embroidered with an American flag in order to advertise the Levis Classic American
Style.
Throughout our advertising campaigns and promotions Levis plans to reach a new
market on an international level. Levis’ buzz marketing strategy has been implemented
to penetrate the market hard and increase sales. The advertisements were created to
catch the interest of young people who want the Classic American Style. Levis style is
simple and attractive. It provides a break from the flashy expensive trendy styles.