Levi’s Expands European Presence with Flagship Stores Amid Global Relaunch

Levi Strauss, going for Europe. The U.S. denim company has opened two new flagship stores in Madrid and Milan, the company’s largest outlets in both countries. The openings are part of the restructuring and relaunch plan in which the group has been involved since the beginning of 2024, led by Michele Gass.

The group opened the doors of its new store in Madrid last Tuesday, located at 28 Preciados Street, with more than 4,300 square feet distributed over two floors. The establishment joins the network of more than 50 points of sale with which Levi Strauss operates in Spain.

The expansion in the Italian market has also been part of the U.S. company’s restructuring plan. With 3,810 square feetdistributed over two floors, the group’s largest store in Milan is located at number 2 Galleria Passarella.

Levi Strauss expands in Spain, Italy and Germany as part of its restructuring plan and after registering one of the highest growth rates in its history

Levi Strauss started 2024 with a change in its top management. Michele Gass was appointed CEO as part of the company’s restructuring, which has involved measures such as cutting up to 15% of the international workforce and the launch of a “global productivity initiative” called Project Fuel.

This two-year plan aims to accelerate the transformation to direct-to-consumer, thereby reducing the weight of wholesale. The initiative has focused on “optimizing the operating model and structure, redesigning business processes and identifying opportunities to reduce costs, while streamlining processes across the organization,“ the company explained in a statement issued in January 2024.

Levi Strauss ended the first nine months of the year (ended August 25th) with a turnover of $4.51 billion, which was 5.4% more than in the same period of the previous year. The company also recorded an increase in the rest of the financial indicators, up 8.9% in gross profit, which reached $2.80 billion, and in operating profit, which stood at $467 million.

In terms of infrastructure, in early September Levi Strauss set up a 750,347 square feet logistics center in Dorsten, Germany, from which it will distribute its products throughout the European market and cover all channels.