NATIONAL: Jeans giant Levi's' recently announced global re-branding strategy will spark new Australasian stores, along with branding and product initiatives designed to broaden its target markets.
Following the mid-January appointment of advertising agency Host as its lead creative and communications agency across all channels - including advertising, digital, experiential and retail - Levi's Australasia general manager Lisa Collier said the brand would be turning its attention to the youth and womenswear markets.
"At the moment a lot of our customers remember Levi's from when they were young. But until now we haven't done a great job of connecting with today's youth," she said, adding Host's appointment would see new media harnessed to capture the youth market's attention.
With this in mind, non-traditional PR specialist One Green Bean had also been appointed to work with Host and creative partner The Glue Society to develop and execute media relations programs, ambient campaigns and social media strategies.
Collier said women were also an untapped market for the brand.
"Women still tend to think of us as a men's brand. A lot of women we've spoken to have said 'it would be great if you could do a skinny leg jean', but in fact we already do that, so this is about raising awareness as well as getting women to try on our products."
Female consumers could expect to see an expanded "lifestyle oriented" product range ? including fashion oriented tops and accessories - in stores for the winter 2009 season.
Meanwhile, Levi's local branding strategy would be well served by a retail roll out that would see Australasian store penetration grow from five sites at present to between 20 and 30 within three years.
Collier said a strengthened retail presence would also be beneficial for Levi's many wholesale partners.
"What we've found in terms of our global experience in other territories is that enhancing the brand's recall through retail also helps its wholesale stockists."
Levi's current brand re-think followed the successful repositioning - in August 2008 - of the classic 501 men's jean, which was re-designed with a slimmer fit to attract a younger customer, she said.