Target (TGT) is positioning itself to grab a whole lot of business from those who would normally buy Levi’s (LEVI) jeans at department stores...but can’t any longer as COVID-19 has probably closed their local location.
The discount retailer announced Tuesday it will expand its offerings of Levi’s Red Tab label to more than 500 locations by next fall.
“We’re so excited to build on our decade-long partnership with Levi Strauss & Co.,” said Target executive vice president and chief merchandising officer Jill Sando in a statement. “The beloved brand is a perfect complement to our strong portfolio of owned and national brands and an important partner as we aim to be guests’ go-to denim destination.”
Levi’s is no stranger to the aisles at Target.
The jeanswear maker for years has sold a lower priced line at Target dubbed Denizen. The Denizen line has since expanded to khaki joggers and is available for adults and children. As for the higher priced Red Tab label, it made its debut at 50 Target stores in late August 2019. The line includes men’s and women’s tops, jeans and jackets — a pair of jeans costs about $39.99.
The Red Tab label is now available at 140 Target stores and online.
![Levi's is expanding at Target stores in the U.S. [Credit: Target]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ydzm94mPB2OMqQIOa0kItg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTExNzI-/https://media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com/creatr-uploaded-images/2020-10/62fc1940-081b-11eb-abba-9c98766f0314)
For Target, the expanded relationship also says a lot about the need for jeans in the future. After all, at some point people will return to office settings, schools and job sites and need a pair of jeans. Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh certainly agrees with that take.
“It’s a myth that needs to be dispelled,” Bergh told Yahoo Finance on the death of jeans as mostly everyone works from home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We read data all the time. If you look at the data for what consumers are wearing from the waist down, non-active apparel is still 70% of all waist-down wear. And of that, denim is about 50% of it. So the total denim category is about 30% of all apparel bottoms, if you will — the things that you're putting on your legs and your butt every single day. Denim is about 30% of it,” Bergh confidently stated.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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