Problem-Solution Case Report

EVEN LEVI CAN MAKE MISTAKES

During the 1980s, Levis US division was looking at ways of diversifying away from its heavy dependene on
a !eans market that appeared to "e saturated# $t had already introdued Levis shoes, shirts and soks,
whih sold %uite well among people who were already "uying Levi !eans# &ow it wanted to move into the
market for higher pried lothes, in order to attrat a new type of ustomer to the Levi Strauss "rand# 's
menswear had always "een its "iggest seller, it deided to onentrate on the male market first#
(o deide how to meet this o"!etive, a market researh ompany was ommissioned to investigate mens
purhasing ha"its and attitudes to lothes through a Usage and Attitudes Study# ' large %uantitative survey
was onduted among a %uota sample of )000 men who had reently spent at least *+0 on lothing# ,hen
analysed, the survey revealed that the entire menswear market ould "e segmented into five types of "uyer-
Type 1: Traditionalist . typially over /+0 department store shopper0 "uys polyester suits and trousers0
shops with his wife1girlfriend0 )02 of the market#
Type : Classic Independent . a 3real lothes horse0 )12 of the market0 "uys at independent stores0
prefers wool "lend suits0 e4pensive taste#
Type !: Utilitarian . wears !eans for work and play0 )52 of the market0 loyal to Levi#
Type ": Trendy Casual . "uys designer, high fashion lothes0 might "uy Levis +01 !eans, "ut usually
onsiders Levi to "e too mass6market orientated0 192 of the market#
Type #: Price Shopper . "uys anything at any plae where the pries are low0 no potential for Levi0 1/2 of
the market#
's the (ype ) 7lassi $ndependent mathed Levis o"!etive, the researh ompany was asked to analyse
the findings so that the "ehaviour and attitude of this speifi group ould "e split from the rest of the
sample# (he large total num"er of interviews made it possi"le to have onfidene in the relia"ility of the data
from this su"6sample# $t emerged that (ype ) men wanted traditionally styled, perhaps pinstriped suits and
that they liked to shop alone, whereas others liked to have their wife1girlfriend with them#
(o takle this segment of the market, Levi deided to introdue 3(ailored 7lassi, a range of high %uality
wool suits, trousers and !akets# (he researh showed that these "uyers valued %uality and fit rather than
low pries, so Levi deided to prie the range 102 a"ove that of the ompetition# (o avoid diret produt
omparisons . and to ensure that not too large a sales fore was needed . Levi hose to distri"ute through
department store hains#
8aving deided on this strategy, its aepta"ility in the target market was tested via a series of group
disussions# (hese were onduted "y a psyhologist, who was to look for the real motivations "ehind
respondents opinions or "ehaviour#
(he psyhologist reported that (ype ) men had two reservations- first, they were onerned that the
garments would "e in standard fittings and so would not provide the tailoring they wanted0 seond, although
they "elieved that Levi ould make a good suit, they still felt unomforta"le a"out the Levi name# 9ne said-
:,hen $ think Levi, $ think !eans# $f theyre making suits, $ have to "e onvined#;
'nother ommented that-
:$f $ went to work and someone said, 38ey, thats a good suit, whos it "y< $ wouldnt feel omforta"le saying
Levi=;
(he ompanys marketing e4eutives responded to this "y deiding to onentrate on the separate !akets
and trousers in the launh advertising, and let suits 3slipstream#
(he Diretor of 7onsumer >arketing felt ertain that-
:=(he thing thats going to overome Levis image for asualness, as no other thing an, is a suit thats
made "y Levi that doesnt look like all the other things weve made# 9ne that gets on the raks, people will
reali?e that Levi an also make a good suit when they put their mind to it=;
Soon after this deision, salespersons started ontating retail "uyers# 'fter four months of selling to the
trade, it was lear that the sales target for the range would not "e met# @ven a prie ut did little to redeem
the situation, and (ailored 7lassis ahieved only 5+2 of its modest sales targets#
(here was a hane that Levi ould salvage the situation . if it ould identify where it was going wrong# (he
ompany deided to hire a onsultant for professional help=
$rite a Problem-Solution Case Report-
Aou are the onsultant who has "een ommissioned "y Levi to identify the mistakes that have "een made
with (ailored 7lassis . their new produt range, and the pro"lems that have emerged as a result#
,rite a report speifying the key pro"lems urrently faed "y Levi# 8ighlight the ause of eah pro"lem and
then suggest possi"le alternative ourses of ation that may help to inrease sales for the ompany# Bive
lear reommendations as to the future ourses of ation that should "e onsidered#
Aour answer should "e presented in a suita"le aademi format and in formal register#