From the gold miners of the 1840s to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Levi Strauss has been the denim brand of choice for iconic American entrepreneurs for nearly two centuries \u2014 most of them male. <\/p>\n
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The company is now trying to tilt that demographic mix in the opposite direction. If there was one major gap in Levi\u2019s sales portfolio \u2014 and thus a potential source of untapped growth \u2014 it is sales to women, who barely make up 40% of company receipts, CEO Michelle Gass said. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s despite more than half the company\u2019s employees being female. Gass, the company\u2019s first female chief executive, said Levi\u2019s is seeking to evolve beyond jeans to become a major force in women\u2019s apparel with items such as denim skirts and blouses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still underserving the female consumer,\u201d Gass said in an interview for NBC News\u2019 \u201cBusiness in America\u201d series. <\/p>\n
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Levi Strauss CEO Michelle Gass sits down for an interview with NBC News.NBC News<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been so many eras and chapters for Levi\u2019s, and here today, while we\u2019re so in tune and honoring that legacy, we also see a huge chapter ahead of us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
If Levi\u2019s stock price is an indication, Gass is ushering the company successfully into that next chapter. Since it announced the hiring of Gass in November 2022, Levi\u2019s stock has climbed nearly 50% to more than $23 per share. <\/p>\n
Last year, Levi\u2019s raked in $6.4 billion in net sales, its best 12-month stretch since 1997, as athleisure fatigue<\/a> has given way to the stirrings of a denim revival<\/a>. On Wednesday, the company reported revenues of $1.56 billion for the second quarter, beating Wall Street\u2019s expectations and putting it on track to top last year\u2019s annual sales. <\/p>\n For an apparel brand synonymous with America\u2019s history, Gass is quick to emphasize, Levi\u2019s is a global brand today, with approximately 60% of its sales coming from overseas. <\/p>\n Alongside a brand partnership with Beyonc\u00e9, who penned a paean to Levi\u2019s on her most recent album, the company has also recruited a Bollywood star and top European and British influencers \u2014 most of them female \u2014 to sport its looks. <\/p>\n Levi\u2019s also appears to be riding a cresting wave of newfound interest in baggy jeans<\/a> and denim jackets<\/a>, especially among Gen Z women. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much more we can do in this, call it head to toe, always anchored in denim,\u201d Gass said. <\/p>\n Levi\u2019s is also benefiting from the bifurcation of the economy itself: First-quarter sales of its premium denim line, Blue Tab, were up 40%, while that of its Signature line aimed at lower-income consumers climbed 16% \u2014 though this also reflects the fact that Levi\u2019s possesses a significant customer base of middle- and lower-income consumers. <\/p>\n Long tied to the shelves of big-box retailers like Macy\u2019s, Levi\u2019s is now leaning into direct-to-consumer sales by doubling down on standalone stores and investing in its website, including adding an AI shopping agent, Gass said. <\/p>\n \u201cConsumers really do like buying directly from us,\u201d she said. \u201cWhere I get really excited is this is where we can bring the fullest expression of the Levi\u2019s brand, especially now as we move forward to head-to-toe denim lifestyle.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"Levi's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/260707-Levis-Store-ew-526p-720eae.jpg\")
A Levi’s store on Via del Corso in Rome on June 20.Nano Calvo \/ VWPics via AP file<\/p>\n