With over 170 years of rich history, Levi Strauss & Co. is part of hundreds of thousands of untold stories, including those of the people whose passion and vision shaped Levi’s® into the brand we know today. On a recent trip to Hungary, I learned the amazing story of one such person: Levi’s® salesman Willie Gertler, whose autobiography “Selling Is My Game” is still a reference point for historical business practices today.
Willie’s Start
Born in 1907 in Budapest into a Jewish family, Willie’s story began humbly, when his family endured the Nazi terrors in Hungary that preceded World War II. After his father abandoned the family, 16-year-old Willie needed to support his mother and siblings, so he left school and found a job working the floor of a shoe polish factory. There he eventually rose to become manager of the whole Budapest plant.
Then World War II came.
Fortunately, Willie and his family were able to flee to the U.K. in 1939. Being a refugee meant Willie had to start over again, working long hours and eventually forming his own agency, F. J. Gertler & Co. Ltd. Then a chance opportunity changed his life and fortune forever — thanks, in large part, to Levi’s®
Sticking With His Standards Pays Off
In May 1959, the British government announced that it was lifting its long time ban on “dollar imports,” allowing LS&Co. to seek a U.K. distributor for its coveted denim goods. Among the 70 applicants was Willie’s agency.
Willie anxiously awaited news until Levi’s® Export Manager Max Katzberg arranged a meeting at the Westbury Hotel with a handful of textile agents, including Willie. Taking bold initiative, Willie headed directly to the manager’s room.
The bold move paid off. After successfully testing Levi’s® samples with high-end retail customers in the West End, Willie booked three firm orders — only to learn that the export manager had been advised to offer Levi’s® products to Harrods. Now more eager than ever, Willie called in a favor and set up an appointment with Max at Harrod’s the following day.
When Max didn’t show the next day, Willie left frustrated, immediately writing to LS&Co. in San Francisco to decline the position.
After receiving his letter, Bill Lagoria, vice president of Marketing for LS&Co., called Willie: “Someone who can afford to refuse a Levi’s® distributorship must be the man for us.”
Willie’s approach — and sticking his standards — paid off. “I have found throughout my life, [that it] is a policy which more often than not pays dividends,” he wrote.
Levi’s® Launches in the U.K.
Officially launching sales in Britain in 1959, Levi’s® was an immediate success. Willie and Levi’s® helped outfit everyone from trend-chasing youth to celebrities like Evelyn de Rothschild and Gracie Fields — who wrote Willie a letter from Capri. Even Princess Anne was photographed wearing a pair of Levi’s® jeans.
Advertisement in “Men’s Wear Magazine,” a U.K. weekly trade magazine, on July 14, 1962.
Willie handled sales, distribution and promotions. “Consignments of Levi’s® flooded into Britain from [LS&Co.’s] American and continental depots, first by truckloads, then by planeloads,” wrote Willie. Some of the trucks were even hijacked. “We were advised to camouflage [the] Levi’s® name on the cartons to reduce the pilferage risks.”
To keep up with the brand’s popularity, Willie obtained larger warehouses and increased staffing. By October 1964, he recorded a turnover of £5 million, all on imported merchandise. In 1969, a Levi’s® plant eventually opened in the U.K., in Whitburn, Scotland.
A Star Player
In 1965, when LS&Co. faced an import challenge in the U.K., Willie not only found a solution; he became it. LS&Co. appointed Willie managing director of the new subsidiary, LS&Co. (U.K.), where goods could be shipped with the import deposit and duty paid. Willie’s distribution company became the commission agents for Levi Strauss (U.K.).
In 1972, a year before his retirement, Willie returned home to Budapest as other Eastern Bloc countries tried to negotiate deals with Iron Curtain manufacturers. “If Willie Gertler has his way, when East meets West in the future, both will be wearing Levi’s® jeans,” noted the Times’ Business Diary in December 1970. In the end, Willie’s efforts would pave the way for future sales in the region.
Willie’s biggest accomplishment was earning the title “Mr. Levi’s U.K.” During his tenure, “the blue jeans king of the U.K.” built the annual turnover to $25 million dollars.
Today, Willie is remembered as exemplifying LS&Co.’s values of hard work and integrity and can be credited with spreading the love of Levi’s® beyond the States and across the globe.
