levi’s: the making of a $6 billion brand

If ever the fashion industry needed proof of the power of storytelling to sell clothes, then Levi’s is it.

Last week, the US denim giant said it hopes to be valued at $6.2bn (£5.3bn) when it floats on the New York Stock Exchange, after confirming in February its plans to list. The brand expects to raise $587m (£503m) and offer investors nearly 37 million shares at between $14 and $16 each.

Levi’s follows hot on the heels of Farfetch, which floated on the New York Stock Exchange last September, at a value of $5.8bn (£4.47bn). Further high-profile IPOs are expected this year, including Uber and Pinterest.

But Levi’s, founded in 1853, is a very different business to 11-year-old Farfetch and the other technology-based enterprises. Levi’s is a 166 year-old story of, well, denim – and one that has helped the brand to drive revenues from $4.9bn to $5.6bn (£3.8bn to £4.3bn) last year, prompting its president and chief executive Chip Bergh to declare it an “outstanding year”. A strategy of product diversification, expansion in direct-to-consumer business and a better connection with consumers worldwide was credited with driving this sales increase.