Levi’s NextGen Concept Will Lead Store Openings

Levi’s says it continues to see success with its smaller “NextGen” stores, so much so that they’ll account for nearly all of the 100 locations the denim maker plans to open this year.

“These smaller footprint doors are some of the most profitable in our US mainline fleet, supporting our objective to increase distribution of our premium products in the US marketplace,” Levi Strauss & Co. President and CEO Chip Bergh said during an earnings call Wednesday evening (Oct. 6).

Read more: Levi’s Flexes Brand Power Pricing Muscles, Touts Success of Next-Gen Stores

He said the company is focused on enhancing its omnichannel offerings, pointing to the company’s Tailor Shop virtual workshops. In addition, Levi’s has begun piloting self-checkout and debuted a “shop-a-store” function on its app for customers in the Americas.

“We’re excited to see consumers returning to our stores as markets reopen with company-operated brick-and-mortar revenue returning to pre-pandemic levels, impressive results given traffic remains down versus 2019 and 10% of our doors were closed in the quarter,” Bergh said.

He added that, despite stores reopening, revenues via digital channels rose 10% compared to last year and accounted for approximately 20% of third-quarter revenues. Bergh also noted Levi’s venture into the world of premium activewear following its acquisition of Beyond Yoga.

Read more: Levi’s ‘Beyond Yoga’ D2C Opens 1st Physical Store

As PYMNTS reported last August, Levi’s purchased Beyond Yoga with designs on expanding the company’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) capabilities, including through brick-and-mortar retail.

Last month, Beyond Yoga opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Santa Monica, California, offering customers an omnichannel experience that lets them make appointments online and choose products ahead of time, based on their purchase history and sizing.

Learn more: The Digital Transformation of Levi Strauss in Latin America

Also in September, PYMNTS spoke with Levi Strauss Senior Vice President and Managing Director LatAm Rui Araújo da Silva about the company’s efforts to bridge the world physical and digital retail through things like mobile point of sale (POS).

He told PYMNTS that complete digital integration is “still new for us. It’s on our agenda. We are still a little bit behind if you compare us with the U.S. or Europe, but for sure it’s something to unlock a lot of opportunities.”

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