Why Wall Street is buzzing about Levi's
Levi's believes it has a path forward by moving beyond jeans.
"We have significant opportunity to grow by expanding beyond our core business," the company said in a regulatory filing last month. Levi's wants to "develop leading positions in categories outside of men's bottoms."
Pants still make up 68% of the company's sales, but they have been shrinking in recent years as sales of other clothing expand. Levi's wants to sell more shirts, sweatshirts, shoes and cold weather gear, and also double down on women's clothes. Women's sales have increased from 20% of Levi's business in 2015 to 29% last year.
Levi's believes it has an opportunity grow even more with women.
"We have a vision of this brand becoming a head-to-toe lifestyle brand, competing in multiple categories," CEO Bergh told CNN's Richard Quest in an interview Thursday.
Levi's also hopes to grab a bigger piece of international markets, including China, India and Brazil. It believes it has a huge growth opportunity in China, which accounts for 20% of the global apparel market — but only 3% of Levi's revenue.