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Levi Strauss &; Co. is a privately owned American company that was founded by Levis Strauss in 1853. It invented the blue jean in 1873 and decided to base its market on that. Levis offers a wide spectrum of jeans and jeans wear in variety of fits, fabric, styles and prices to entice the large range of customers. In 1994 it became the first apparel industry to establish labor rights, health, environmental and safety standards for factories where clothes are produced. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, US. It owns the trademark of renowned brands of Levi’s, Dockers, Denizen and Signature (Our Story, 2017)
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<h2 align="justify">Competition in the Industry</h2>
<p align="justify">The apparel industry is fragmented and has intense competition. The company faces a rivalry with variety of jeans wear and casual apparel companies. The competition has increased over the years due to increase in international market, rapid growth of vertically integrated specialty stores, expansion of existing and new competitors into e-commerce and the introduction of jeans wear by sportswear companies. The distinguished names which are competing with Levi’s are Lee, Wrangler, Spykar, Tommy Hilfiger. Some of these companies are more able than Levi’s to adapt to immediate needs of the customers, invest greater resources into maintaining their brand equity and endorsing their products both in stores and online. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)
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<p align="justify">The apparel companies who relied on wholesale distribution initially are rapidly moving towards their retail outlets. This has further increased the problems for Levi Strauss &; Co. All these competitors have the capacity to entice the consumers even by low production costs. This is a serious threat to the company’s sales and profit margins. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)
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<h2 align="justify">Potential of New Entrants into the Industry</h2>
<p align="justify">The apparel industry has very minimal governmental regulations and policies in every country. The entry barriers are very low which results in rapid increase in number of new competitors. Levi’s has an advantage of first positioning in terms of location of outlets and brand equity but the advantage is very minimum, as there are new entrants who have an advantage of lost production cost and high profits. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)</p>
<p align="justify">The company also faces threat from the private labels who attract the customers for their affordable prices and average quality. 
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<h2 align="justify">Power of Suppliers</h2>
<p align="justify">The raw material that is needed by the company is cotton, blends, wool and synthetics. Everything besides cotton is available in abundance along with their suppliers, so there is very low power of suppliers over the company. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)</p>
<p align="justify">However the availability of cotton fluctuates throughout and is dependent on several factors like weather, acreage devoted to its growth, government policies and regulations on agriculture, energy prices, work stoppages, supply conditions and transport costs. All of these factors influences the prices of the company’s products and consequently affects its sales. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)</p>
<p align="justify">The company runs on outsourcing. It relies on independent contract manufactures for 97% of its products who purchase their fabrics and make their products. The have the power over company as they are to free to terminate their contracts anytime they want. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)
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<h2 align="justify">Power of Buyers</h2>
<p align="justify">The company’s products are sold in more than 110 countries. Levi’s is very much reliant on its sales to the wholesale customers. They made up about 31% of their total net revenues in 2013, 2014 and 2015. No other customers represented event the 10% of the sales. While relying such heavily on the wholesale market, Levi’s doesn’t have long term contracts with its wholesale customers. As a result, either of the parties are free to terminate their business dealings with each other. If the wholesalers decide to end its contract with the company or reduce the floor space, the company suffers a lot. The bargaining power of the consumers is high. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)
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<h2 align="justify">Threat of Substitute Products</h2>
<p align="justify">The switching costs to other affordable jeans wear is next to none. The threat of substitute products is likely to be very high, as the competition is increasing in the apparel industry. The threat to switch to casuals and winter wear depending on the mood of the customers, is very high too. The company needs to work on its product differentiation strategies and invest heavily in its R&;D to appeal to its consumers. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)
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<h2 align="justify">Conclusion</h2>
<p align="justify">Levi Strauss &; Co. faces a lot of competition and this competition will keep on growing in the future. In order to keep its positioning stabilized in the apparel market, Levi’s has to take certain steps to ensure its label is unique and of best quality with affordable price. The company needs to develop more innovative ideas like ‘Made for Her’ (denim jeans collection for women) which was designed at their R&;D department called Eureka. (Strauss&;Co., 2015)</p>
<h2 align="justify">Bibliography</h2>
<p align="justify">• ; ; ; Our Story. (2017, June 17). Retrieved from Levi Strauss &; Co.: <a href="http://www.levistrauss.com/our">http://www.levistrauss.com/our</a> story/#introduction<br />
• ; ; ; Strauss&;Co., L. (2015). Unleashing Our Potential 2015 Annual Report. San Fransisco.</p>
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