Levi's have always been for everyone

Why not just leave it at that?

Recent headlines assert that Levi’s is getting in on the gender-neutral action.

This isn’t really news for a few reasons:

1. Levi’s have always been gender-neutral. I’ve worn men’s 501s for as long as I can remember. I’m not alone in this.

2. The gender-neutral product line called Line 8 was discussed by CEO Chip Bergh at the Axios BFD event in San Francisco yesterday (which is what the headlines are based on.) But the line isn’t new — it’s been around since at least 2017. Of note, it likely represents less than .5% of total sales (to my recollection.) It hasn’t been particularly successful.

3. In 2019, Levi’s posted a guide to unisex shopping.

4. In 2020, Levi’s penned a blog post pointing out that Levi’s 501 jeans are made “for a variety of bodies, no matter the gender.” I know!

While I was still at Levi’s, there was a lot of employee feedback pushing to re-arrange the Levi’s stores as gender-neutral. No men’s section or women’s section. Just a big free-for-all.

I unequivocally said no, repeatedly. Why? More than 90% of consumers shop by gender (I don’t remember the exact number but high!) The stores were confusing enough to navigate given how many jean styles are offered. We already got tons of feedback from female consumers that they couldn’t find the women’s section or the jean they were looking for because the distinction between men’s and women’s product wasn’t clear enough. Why make it more confusing for the majority of shoppers?

As it pertains to the actual gender-neutral Line 8 collection, the sizing was confusing for all. The fit less than ideal for all. Because — get this — men’s and women’s bodies are shaped differently! In fact, Levi’s didn’t have success in women’s jeans until they finally got the fit right — for a woman’s body. Which isn’t one thing, true. There’s curvier and straighter etc. But the women’s line was re-imagined and re-launched in 2015 with the wide range of women’s body types in mind. The women’s jeans were no long just men’s jeans but smaller and pinker. They were FOR women! And the collection was a huge hit. And it’s been the key driver of growth for the brand since then.

Why not just leave it alone Levi’s? These products are out there. People will find them. If I want a men’s 501 there is nothing stopping me from buying it. And if my husband or son wants a women’s skinny jean, heck, they can get that too.

Of all times to wade into controversial politics! And yes, gender ideology is politics. This is not the time! Bud Light’s sales dropped more than 20% for the month of April because they weighed in with their not an ad campaign, influencer endorsement with Dylan Mulvaney.

Plus, it’s not like Levi’s is on fire to begin with. The stock price is less than half of what it was 2 years ago.

Bergh was asked by the moderator at the conference: “How do you market products in a world where people are more aware of their gender identities?”

He then responded that Levi’s “actually has a gender neutral line.”

He went on to say:

“We know that some women buy some men’s products and some men buy women’s products. We know that that goes on, we’ve got the research and the data to show it.”

Here’s what the data says: the vast majority of people shop for clothing overall, and jeans in particular, by their gender. The majority of people also say they prefer brands that don’t weigh in on polarizing politics. AND only about 1% of the total population identifies as non-binary.

So why do this? Why market to the 1% (not a commercially viable segment of the population) many of whom are already buying and wearing Levi’s in a gender-neutral fashion, and risk alienating the 99%?

Why not do this instead: continue to offer the not-doing-so-great Line 8 collection. Continue to guide shoppers to the right jean whether it’s in the men’s or women’s section. And stay out of the rest of it.

And now, in a not an ad campaign answer to a question, Levi’s is getting utterly avoidable, unfavorable headlines.

What Bergh should have said in response to the question:

Levi’s are for everyone.

Full stop.