Levi Strauss & amp; Co. Jeans madness Bashny.Net

Levi Strauss & Co. - The world's largest clothing manufacturer - gave the world blue jeans and amassed a fortune in this part of the American kultury.

Worldwide, the name of the founder of the company has become synonymous with the name of his pants, which he invented: Levi's.

Levi Strauss sells clothes in more than 60 countries, has its own production and representation in 49 countries. The company manages its own business in most countries in Europe, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil and Argentina. In addition to its most popular brand Levi's, the company produces clothing and accessories under the brand Dockers, Britannia and Slates.

Levi Strauss was born in Bavaria in 1829, in 1847 at age 18 immigrated to the US with his family. His older brother had already established their own small business selling fancy goods, which he joined as a representative of the company in other states.

While the young Levi traveled to the southern part of the country, the husband of his elder sister, David Stern, in the wake of the California gold rush in 1849, opened a dry goods store in San Francisco. Thus, the founding year of the company, which was later destined to bear the name of Levi Strauss, is considered to be 1850. Three years later, Levy joined relatives and business development began. Their shop was located at the shoreline, so it was very convenient to get the supply of materials from their relatives from the east coast.

Jeans, which became the main subject of trade family business, have been invented when Levy, noting the need for workers and miners in durable pants of coarse material, offered one of the tailors to sew trousers of durable brown sailcloth fabric, which he brought with him from his travels. When the stock of fabric over, Levy decided to use a thick cloth production of one of the factories of the French town of Nimes, which later became known as a cotton cloth (denim). Pants made of denim, colored in blue and blue using indigo, quickly sold out, and the company Levi Strauss & Co. began to develop rapidly, continually expanding.

In 1872 the owners of Levi Strauss & Co. We received a letter from a tailor from Nevada named Jacob Davis (Jacob Davis), in which he offered them a partnership in the acquisition of a patent for technology invented them. It was to strengthen the joints by means of rivets. Levy and his son agreed to the proposal, and the company has received a patent for the use of rivets to reinforce pocket seams and double-stitching on the back pockets of his pants.

At first, the tailors who work for the company, worked at home. But soon demand for new pants so increased, despite the economic depression that hit the California in 1873, the company was forced to gather all the tailors under one roof in a small factory, the control of which was Jacob Davis from Nevada.

In 1877 the factory Levi Strauss & Co. expanded features and brand pants brand Levi's-dark blue denim, rivets, stitches and stitching, as well as a guarantee of quality - have become standard. By 1879 jeans cost $ 1.46 and was wildly popular among the workers of mines and the inhabitants western ranch. The company continued to trade and other dry goods, increasing its turnover to $ 2.4 million by 1880.

In 1886 leather tag with the logo titled «Two Horse Brand», which depicted a horse, trying to tear a pair of jeans, it has become an integral part of every pair of pants. In 1890 the company began to assign model numbers of their products, and the famous number "501" has been assigned riveted jeans.

In 1912 the company introduced its first new product to the public over the past decade - the bodys Koveralls, designer made Simon Davies (Simon Davis), the son of a tailor who invented corporate style of jeans. In support of the new product launched an extensive advertising campaign, which helped Levi Strauss & Co. enter the international market. The First World War and the production boom did not affect the Levi Strauss & Co., as the company has not entered into any government contracts.

In 1922, in addition to traditional Buttons for suspenders company began implementing his jeans belt loop. Gradually reduce the percentage of other manufactured goods company, as the basic income (70% in 1929), the company received was from the sale of jeans.

The economic depression of the 1930s in the United States has played into the hands of the company. Western ranch owners, unable to feed themselves through agriculture, began to learn the basics of tourism business, inviting residents of the eastern part of the country to visit their ranch and get to know the local way of life, as well as the traditional style of the cowboy clothes - jeans Levi's. And which came the popularity of Hollywood westerns spread the message about the brand even further. In its advertising campaigns Levi's has always emphasized durability, now added to this quality is also a special "chic wild west." To extract more benefits from the popularity of the brand, the company in 1936 added a small red label with the name of the label on the back pocket.

The company with the least loss suffered World War II, jeans were spread in the student and youth circles. In 1950, Levi Strauss & Co. We have taken the most important step in the history of its existence. Benefiting from the post-war population explosion, the campaign has focused its marketing interests in the young people who wear their pants in everyday life, and not at work. Here Hollywood helped us again, when such famous actors like Marlon Brando and James Dean appeared in the frames of youth films, dressed in jeans. Levi's jeans were on the way to becoming the uniform of a whole generation.

In 1954 the company launched a series of sportswear and clothing in the style of casual. To lineup of classic jeans added jeans with zipper.

In the early 60 Levi Strauss & Co. We began to experiment with different colors of jeans, releasing orange, yellow, green and white jeans, which, however, did not become popular. In 1960, the same year the company released the first model worn jeans, and in 1963 added to the denim materials such as stretch and corduroy.

In the 1970s, Levi's jeans have acquired the status of a social and cultural phenomenon worldwide. Jeans madness continued to flourish. The company had to cope with challenges such as a shortage of denim for the manufacture of its products. Levi Strauss & Co. had to split the production into four main areas: jeans, Levi's for women, children's clothing and men's sportswear.

By 1977, Levi Strauss & Co. It has become the largest clothing manufacturer in the world. By assortment of manufactured goods added shoes and socks. Sales continued to grow, and by 1979 the company's turnover reached $ 2 billion.

In 1985, the company has undergone significant structural changes that just went for her. A little later introduced a new line of men's clothing under the brand Dockers, and a lineup of Levi's jeans were added faded and stained specimens. The company's turnover in 1990 amounted to $ 4 billion.

Only in 1992, Levi Strauss has invested $ 230 million advertising. The advertising campaign was designed to add a little elegance and glamor of the famous brands. The result was the emergence of models of Levi's in expensive boutiques at much higher prices.