Levi's Turns Its Own 90s Archive Into Its Best Growth Story in Years

Nineties nostalgia didn't happen to Levi's; the company is actively selling it. After years of sales sagging once shoppers moved on to newer cuts, the denim brand is leaning hard into its own archive, reissuing throwback fits like the 517 (which got a fresh wave of demand after it showed up in a buzzy show about John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy) and pushing further into slip dresses, leather jackets, and baby tees. "We're already synonymous with the '90s style," Levi's Vice President of Global Marketing Anne Cambria said. "We really want to amplify the moment."

Levi's is forecasting as much as 7.5 percent sales growth for the fiscal year ending in November, which would be its biggest annual revenue gain since the company went public again in 2019, pandemic rebound aside. Revenue is already up more than 11 percent to $3.3 billion through the first half of the year, strong enough that Levi's has raised its full-year guidance twice, with analysts calling that outlook conservative ahead of third-quarter results due this week.

Jana Henning, chief merchandising officer for Levi's women's business, said the brand's low-rise styles, including a slouchier 501 '90s fit and a wedgie bootcut built to flatter, are "growing disproportionately" within the business. Selling more of that directly through its own website and store fleet, rather than leaning on wholesale partners, has let Levi's spotlight its most on-trend pieces instead of getting buried next to Gap, Coach, Champion, and Ralph Lauren, all of which are seeing their own vintage pieces get dug out of closets and thrift racks right alongside Levi's.

The bet isn't risk-free. Profit hasn't kept pace with sales because of marketing costs, tariffs, and a shift to outsourced order fulfillment, and the push into branded retail stores means Levi's now needs real estate and merchandising instincts it never had to build as a wholesale business. BNP Paribas analyst Laurent Vasilescu put the risk bluntly: build the stores, and if the consumer doesn't come, "you're kind of screwed." For a brand that spent a decade watching trendier, stretchier competitors eat its lunch, actively owning the cultural moment instead of just supplying jeans for it is the real turnaround story.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →