Profits in Levi’s Laser Sights
Lasers will soon size you up, guaranteeing you never buy a pair of jeans too big or too small again. This puts investors on the cusp of something special as manufacturing processes change, and it’s a 166-year-old company that wants to front-run this futuristic technology!
When Levi Strauss launched as a mid-19th-century dry goods business, every pair of denim jeans was handcrafted. Today, the iconic brand and new stock market constituent has a very different looking production line. With ‘Project F.L.X,’ lasers now apply the finishing touches to the denim by etching off a thin layer of cotton to create a fashionable washed look. This divided investor opinion at first, but a 30-minute production process is now an environmentally friendly 90-second one, with shareholders millions better off.
Now, the brand is confident it can go a step further. Using the same infrared technology, a body scan from your smartphone could make tailor-made denim the norm. “Sizes will go out the window ten years from now,” said the Levi Strauss CEO, Chip Bergh, yesterday. His three-pronged strategy for the firm is risky, centering around this idea, e-commerce, and a focus on women’s clothing.
If Bergh’s visions come true about the power of laser beams, investors are in the money. On top of offering custom orders, Levi’s could get textile work done at a distribution center rather than a centralized manufacturing facility. The bottom line? Quite tasty, thank you very much! Levi’s is a turning into Silicon Valley machine, and the profit margin on a pair of 501s is set to look pretty stylish as a result!
