Levi’s focuses on digital

Retail Gets Real episode 219: Levi Strauss Americas President Marc Rosen on the company’s lasting impact and future goals
Nkongho Beteck
Sr. Manager, Social Media and Digital Content
Retail Gets Real is sponsored by

A great pair of jeans never goes out of style, and although apparel has evolved over the years, denim as a centerpiece in the wardrobe is still a classic. That is one of the many reasons why Levi Strauss & Co. has led the way in retail for over a century. Marc Rosen, president of Levi Strauss Americas, joins the Retail Gets Real podcast to talk about the history of the Levi’s brand and its goal to become the world’s best digital apparel company.

Before Levi’s, Rosen worked at Walmart on walmart.com and the greater ecommerce operation, leading the way for online businesses worldwide. When the opportunity came to build out a digital, ecommerce and direct-to-consumer model using the nostalgic power of the Levi’s brand and its innate ability to connect with people, he joined the team.

As Levi’s set up its direct-to-consumer business, it started building data science capabilities harnessing the power of consumer behavior data — how people shop, the trends they follow and what merchandise is working — and providing that insight to designers at the beginning of the creative process.

The brand created a Digital Enterprise Office to use these insights to drive personalization and stand out in the digital space. Denim continues to evolve, and Levi’s spring 2021 “Buy better and wear longer” campaign shows how good denim is made to last forever.

“Consumers really want to shop a brand and they want to shop that brand regardless of channel. A consumer doesn’t say, ‘Am I going to shop digitally? Am I going to shop online today? Am I going to shop in store?’” Rosen said. “They say, ‘I want to buy Levi’s,’ and they want an experience buying Levi’s across stores and online that is a seamless consumer experience.”

Listen to the full episode to learn more about how Levi’s leverages its Digital Enterprise Office to become a smarter company at every level and what’s next for the iconic brand. Catch Levi’s give insights on accelerated supply chain transformation in real time at NRF Retail Converge.

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