Levi Strauss CEO Chip Berg announced that the historically hot summer affected his company’s denim wholesale data, writes CNBC.
2023 was the hottest summer on record, and Berg argues that Levi’s wholesale customers have a small assortment of the brand’s products, so they haven’t been able to properly adapt to the weather changes.
“They tend to sell mostly blue jeans, and it’s hard to sell a pair of blue Levi’s when it’s 43 degrees outside.” I think that has somewhat contributed to the lackluster performance we’ve seen in wholesale,” Berg commented.
He added that Levi’s direct-to-consumer business performed much better this quarter and the company’s own stores were able to launch more weather-appropriate products such as shorts and dresses.
In its financial report released on Thursday, Levi’s revealed it was cutting its profit forecast for the end of the year, following a sharp drop in retail revenue. The company still sees a ray of light in direct-to-consumer sales.
Berg said Levi’s is “cautiously optimistic” about the holiday season, but stressed that the complex economic macro environment is impacting the business. According to him, people with lower incomes did not make as many purchases of Levi’s products.
“The middle- and moderate-income consumer is making complex budget choices right now, and that’s negatively impacting the apparel and denim market right now,” he points out. “We have a lot of strengths that we rely on, we just have to get through this economic period and work with our wholesale partners to get this business growing again.”
2023-10-07 11:41:14
#Record #heat #hit #sale #jeans #Lupa
