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Labels, Marques et Consommation - Identité Sociale ?
20 décembre 2006

Classic denim won't wash for fading brands

Un article intéressant concernant les pantalons jeans...

LEVI'S, Wrangler and Lee, the denim brands that put working clothes on the catwalk, are undergoing a makeover in an attempt to restore glitz to their tired image.

Classic jeans are falling victim to fickle tastes, as consumers turn to other fabrics or designer denim, which is often priced in excess.

Levi Strauss & Co., which is 156 years old, suffered declining sales for eight consecutive years until 2005, while Lee and Wrangler, which are owned by America's VF Corporation, have also experienced stagnant sales.

The "classics" are being squeezed as consumers move either to the high-fashion denim brands or to the low-price generics offered by supermarkets and discount retailers. But an injection of style is helping the classics regain their footing.

Lee has introduced its Gold Label, which is more fashionably cut, with a high waist, and retails for about £100.

Levi's has brought out Special Edition and Capital E in America, and Blue and Red Wire brands in Europe.

The company is to launch another premium brand, Eco, in November.

The big, historical denim companies have struggled while other sectors, particularly the so-called lifestyle brands such as Diesel, have done well. The lifesyyle brands, such as Lucky and Guess, have become incresingly popular with brand-obessessed consumers who are willing to pay premium prices for them.

According to research in the United States, 41 per cent of denim buyers are willing to spend a three-figure sum on jeans.

VF hopes that by introducing its own premium lines it will reviatlise the Lee and Wrangler brands. VF is also considering acquiring smaller lifestyle brands to sit alongside the classics, hoping that the "cool" factor will rub off on Lee and Wrangler.

Like Levi's, VF has identified a need to expand into the retail sector. Traditional sales through department stores or third-party retailers give the denim makers little control over what brand lines are carried and how they are displayed.

Having their own stores allows these companies to display the brand's new image in a retail setting both in terms of location - such as Lee's new store in Carnaby Street in Soho, London - and store design.

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk 

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