Levi Strauss unzips a new plan in bid to stretch jeans segment

Manjari Raman

Snugger, sexier and smarter--that's the new marketing strategy that Levi Strauss India (Levi's) is unzipping this week. On the basis of consumer-perception research undertaken in the last few months, the new red-tabs on Levi's come-back trail are: a wider entry range of Rs 995 denim jeans, a whole new range of non-denim casualwear, and a new "Easy to get in" advertising campaign which, for the first time, uses only Indian models.

Singing the blues since its launch in 1994, the new initiative marks a turning point for the MNC brand which has been struggling to get its India strategy right. Lessons that a wiser Levi's India is putting into practise are: to be more affordable, to expand the product range to casualwear, to develop the denim-wear market, to make the Levi's brand more young, and above all to take the all-American brand desi.

Says Vivek Raju, consumer marketing manager, Levi Strauss (India): "We want to tell consumers we are not out of reach. We are pushing hard to change perceptions." Considerhow Levi's is out to tailor new perceptions this month:

Levi's is less pricey now. Lowering the entry barrier dramatically, Levi's is extending its minimum price range of Rs 995 from just two fits to nine fits (like hip-hugger, comfort and boot-cut) and 14 finishes (like stone-washed and double stone-washed).

To drive home its new "affordable" and "relatable" image, on September 27, Levi's is launching an eight-week-long print campaign--which for the first time, uses only Indian models to promote the brand. In October follows a direct-mail initiative based on the Rs 995 catalogue, which will cover 50,000 potential Levi's customers.

After creating pull through the wider Rs 995 range, Levi's is then pushing sales by expanding its product range into non-denim casual wear--which will come at a premium. Making a debut this month for menswear are gaberdines, corduroys and flat-front chinos (priced at Rs 1,395), while womenswear will extend to five-pocket jeans in gaberdine (Rs 1,295) andcorduroys (Rs 1,695) and stretch chinos (Rs 1,995).

Finally, in order to position Levi's as a lifestyle product which is part of a total "look" and "lifestyle", Levi's is aggressively moving into the above-the-waist apparel. On hangers now are a slew of new tops ranging from basic T-shirts (priced at a lower Rs 345, from the earlier Rs 395) to singles, halters, tops (an average Rs 595) to denim shirts (Rs 1,095).

It's a sharp departure from the premium pricing tack Levi's first adopted in 1994. Then, all the denim brands in the country were in the sub-Rs 1,000 range--while the most expensive Levi's was the legendary 501 for Rs 2,295. Not surprisingly, the brand's initial projections went awry in the first eighteen months. (Being a wholly-owned subsidiary of Levi Strauss, US, Levi's India refuses to disclose financial or market data.)

Says Sundeep Malhotra, general manager, sales and marketing, Benetton India: "Any brand with a global identity has to address two basic needs: the value perceptionwhich will define usage, and the value association based on price sensitivities of the market." He adds: "Levi's is now both broadbasing the entry-price strategy and broadbasing the product portfolio."

Bangalore-based Levi's India is certainly trying hard to regain lost ground by addressing consumer perceptions and needs through the new price. Reinforcing the message is Levi's "Easy to get in" ad-campaign, created by McCann-Erickson team at Bangalore. The strap-line is a blunt "At 995, it's easy to get in. Bloody tough to get out." Says Raju, "We want to promote the concept of `living in jeans'."

Pertinently, the campaign shows Levi's preferred target customers in the age-group of 16 to 21--even though, at present, the brand is more popular with the 25-26 age-group--and enforces brand values such as cool, sexy, original, individualistic and pushing the edge.

After tracking a core consumer panel of teenagers over the last few quarters, Levi's has learnt that Indian youth like to do fun things in a groupeven as they maintain an individualistic identity. The new campaign thus shows the hip generation "hanging-out" at funky places like an old abandoned factory, a railway overbridge, and even the Mahalaxmi dhobi-ghat in Mumbai, and focuses on "relationship-building" in places like pubs or pool parlours.

To ensure that the youth identifies and relates to the brand, Levi's has eschewed its popular international campaigns. Instead, the company scoured college festivals and popular teenage hang-outs in metros, to pick a clutch of unknown faces who radiate individual style and attitude, for the new campaign.

Evocative of blue denim, the entire campaign has been shot in Tungsten film--which is usually used for industrial photography and renders a blue tinge--by Italian photographer Mino La Franca.

Also, for the first time, Levi's India brought in a fashion consultant--Narendra Kumar Ahmed, the erstwhile founding fashion editor of Elle magazine in India--to coordinate the shoot.

That's because the campaignpromotes not just the new price but also the new product range of casual and workwear. Ahmed has thus worked out a total look around Levi's new range which teenagers can emulate, learn from, and shop for. Or so hopes Levi's. Says Raju, "By pushing a look we want to expand the market.'' Or stretch it--just like a Levi's 803.

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