Bye, skinny jeans: Levi’s embraces a baggy look

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Comfortable clothing is what consumers want now, and Levi’s is ready to provide roomier and downright baggy jeans this year.
“I think we are leading this trend to some extent,” Levi Strauss (LEVI) CEO Chip Bergh told analysts on Wednesday about the company’s fourth quarter results during a phone call. “The line we launched [is] a loose line last season. It is now in our stores [for] men as well as women. It’s a bit of a loose, straight fit and it starts very, very quickly. “

Bergh also called the “trend towards more casual, looser clothing in general”.

That style change was still not enough to boost sales. Levi’s reported fourth-quarter sales, including the year-end year-end shopping season, of $ 1.39 million for the period ended Nov. 29, down 12% from the same period a year ago.

As with most retailers, Levi’s attributed the decline mainly to pandemic store closings and a drop in customer traffic in its own stores and other outlets selling its branded jeans. Levi’s (LEVI) stock fell 8% Thursday.

Looking ahead to the factors that will drive jeans demand in 2021, Bergh said the need for “casualization” will feature prominently.

The iconic JNCO wide leg jeans made a comeback in 2019 and saw demand rise due to the pandemic.

Levi’s isn’t the only one to see baggy jeans take off. Los Angeles-based JNCO, known for its wide-leg models in the 1990s, relaunched its jeans in 2019. The jeans range in price from around $ 130 to $ 200, and some pairs feature embroidery and bold stitching.

“While the pandemic was a negative for many brands overall, it has increased our sales,” said Camilla Revah, JNCO vice president of sales and marketing. “Our jeans are iconic, they are comfortable and that is what people are looking for.

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