A Message From the CEO
A company doesn’t last 160 years by standing still. It endures by reinventing itself, always striving to delight its consumers, and by winning in the marketplace. That’s the story of Levi Strauss & Co. We started as a dry goods company and, then, 20 years later, invented the first pair of blue jeans.
And we’ve never stopped innovating.
Levi Strauss, the man, opened his wholesale dry goods business during the California Gold Rush, catering to the needs of miners, workers and new families. In 1873, he and Reno tailor Jacob Davis invented the blue jean when they patented the process to make denim pants with metal rivets for strength. The working men of the American West were the first beneficiaries of the innovative new pants, and since that time Levi’s® jeans have been adopted by cowboys, dude ranchers, motorcycle rebels, musicians, hippies and presidents. Today, we’re a global company with sales in more than 110 countries around the world.
Long before joining the company in 2011, I was a fan. In fact, I grew up with Levi’s® jeans starting in elementary school all the way through college. When business casual arrived in the office in the early 1990’s, Dockers® quickly replaced my suits.
It takes more than our strong brands, which also include Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. and Denizen®, to succeed and endure. It takes talented and creative people to bring our product to life every day, all around the world – people who strive to do great things, deliver amazing product and win in the marketplace.
The common thread we all share here? The values of Levi Strauss & Co. -- empathy, originality, integrity and courage. This is a company that integrated its sewing factories decades before the law required. We established the first code of conduct for manufacturers, ensuring the people who make our product work in a safe environment and are treated with dignity and respect. And we have long been a leader in building sustainability into everything we do.
I’m proud to be a part of Levi Strauss & Co. and humbled to have the opportunity to lead it on the next part of the journey. My colleagues and I, at all levels of the company, are committed to driving profits through principles. At the most basic level, we may make blue jeans and khakis. But the way we do so enables us to both grow the company and make a difference.
Chip Bergh
President & CEO
