The company claims to have invented the blue jean in 1873, filing a patent for “waist overalls.” In the 146 years since, it’s grown into the top-selling jeans brand by retail value in the U.S. and the world, at 13.5 and 5.3 percent, respectively, according to Euromonitor International, a market research provider.
“It is joining the club,” said Bill Lewis, director at retail consultancy AlixPartners. “The other top apparel players are public, and Levi Strauss is forecasting to grow at a faster rate than overall apparel, so it’s an attractive time.”
Euromonitor data show the other top four jeans players in both the U.S. and the world are all publicly traded, or owned by publicly traded companies. In the U.S., Wrangler (VF Corp.) is the second-biggest jeans brand by sales, followed by Old Navy (Gap), American Eagle Outfitters and Target. Worldwide, Zara (Inditex) is second to Levi, H&M is the third-largest jeans seller, VF’s Wrangler and Lee are fourth and fifth, respectively.
Additionally, Lewis said that “Levi Strauss & Co. wants more capital to give it the opportunity to grow sales and improve their pace of investments.” Investments like its Eureka Innovation Lab, where fabric innovations like its four-way stretch was created, or even potentially acquisitions.
In its SEC-filed prospectus, the denim maker states its main purpose for going public is “to increase our financial flexibility and create a public market for our class A common stock” though it also notes the intention to use the proceeds for working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures, and potentially for acquisitions or other strategic investments.
Levi Strauss is headquartered in San Francisco, making the fight for great talent even more competitive as the Bay Area and nearby Silicon Valley are home to companies from Gap to Google, Facebook, SalesForce and many more. Going public, adds another attractive characteristic for many job seekers.
“Being public can help [Levi Strauss & Co.] compete for talent,” Lewis said. “Stock options are a nice way to reward to employees.”
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