On Tuesday, we released our latest earnings report, showcasing stellar fourth-quarter results and an outstanding fiscal year overall. We delivered revenues of $5.6 billion, up 14 percent on a reported basis and 13 percent in constant currency – a growth rate we haven’t seen in more than 25 years.
“It’s clear our strategies to diversify our product portfolio, expand our direct-to-consumer business, and deepen our connection with consumers worldwide have worked, resulting in both higher annual revenues and gross margins,” said Chip Bergh, president and chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co.
Here are five key takeaways from our results (all numbers are in constant currency):
1. From jeans to a true lifestyle brand. Overall, the Levi’s® brand was up 13 percent in revenue growth after delivering 9 percent growth in 2017. Last quarter, a number of strategic collaborations helped drive positive buzz and energy, from Justin Timberlake to Mickey Mouse.
2. Women love Levi’s®. Our women’s business was up a whopping 28 percent. It now represents almost a third of our total business. Even so, we have still a long runway of growth ahead of us.
3. Evolving into a world-class omnichannel retailer. Our direct-to-consumer business grew 16 percent for the year and has now grown double digits for 12 consecutive quarters. In November, we opened our new Times Square flagship store, our largest store in the world. It came on the heels of successful openings earlier in the year in Mexico City and Toronto, Canada. We also had exciting ecommerce partnerships in 2018 – most recently with SNAP Inc. and Pinterest – as part of our goal to be where our consumers are.
4. Our global presence remains strong. All three of our regions grew, with Europe leading the pack – it was up an impressive 21 percent for the year. Here in the Americas, net revenues grew 10 percent on a constant currency basis, reflecting higher revenues across both wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels across the region. And in Asia, net revenues grew 8 percent on a constant currency basis, reflecting expansion and a strong performance of the company’s direct-to-consumer business.
5. We’re bucking the trend in wholesale. Despite more than 300 wholesale door closures last year, we grew our U.S. wholesale business by 7 percent, driven by Levi’s® women’s and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ While we fully expect that the retail environment will continue to be challenging, we remain focused on profitably growing our business in this space.
Want more? Read the full press release.
