i n d u s t r y

Levi’s No, Wranglers Yes

Truckers have sent a loud and clear message to Levi Strauss & Co. in response to the clothing manufacturer’s marketing decision to dump truckstops as retail outlets for their Levi’s and Dockers brand lines.
Copies of letters sent to Levi Strauss have been pouring in to Heavy Duty Trucking and sister publication Truckers News, all with a similar theme: Take your pants and shove ’em.
“Talk about biting the hand that feeds you,” wrote Paula J. Smith, Mount Vernon, IL. “Do you realize that truck drivers are the backbone of Levi Strauss & Co.? If [truckers] didn’t haul them, how would [your products] get to all of those ‘high image’ stores you speak of?”
The protest came following a story in HDT and TN that Levi Strauss had dumped The Westerner, a Holbrook, AZ, retail store, as a Levi’s and Dockers distributor. In a letter to The Westerner, the company explained: “The emphasis of our distribution strategies is on high-image retail customers whose concepts most enhance the image of our brands.” It’s the implication that truckers don’t meet with Levi’s upscale “image” that has the industry up in arms.
“I fail to understand how any company could turn their backs on such a large consumer group. Especially when this consumer group is such a vital facet of our economy,” said Kathleen Creech, Triple J Trucking Co. “I am outraged at Levi’s cavalier condemnation of truckers.”
Loved Ones and Drivers Support (LOADS) is the group that initiated the boycott. Founder Kathy Harders urged truckers to remove the labels from Levi’s and Dockers garments and mail them to the San Francisco-based company with a letter saying “you’re part of the trucking family and you’ve purchased your last pair of Levi’s and/or Dockers.”
Many truckers have obliged:
Stephen D. McGuire, Crete Carrier Corp., said: “To save your company any further embarrassment, I have removed the label from the outside of the jeans and enclosed it with this letter. You will also find enclosed a small tag from my daughter’s shirt. She feels that if her father doesn’t fit your image, neither does she.”
Troy Johnson, Levi Strauss consumer affairs representative, sent a form reply to all trucker complaints:
“... As you may know, Levi Strauss & Co. recently discontinued its business relationship with The Westerner. We would like to explain. ...
“First, we recognize and appreciate that many of the nation’s truck drivers who wear our products may also deliver our products. They are valued customers of, and valued partners to, the Levi’s brand.”
“... The Westerner is one of a small number of retail customers whose store environments, location and/or product assortments are not aligned with our marketing strategies. We make and market clothing, and we believe that our brands should be sold primarily in and around apparel-oriented stores that sell other major brands. The decision to end our relationship with The Westerner was a difficult one, and was made only after careful review and consideration.
“Again, we value our relationships with truck drivers, their families and all of our loyal consumers across the country. Our hope is that these consumers will understand our decision and will continue to find and enjoy our products in clothing stores throughout their communities.”
Truckers Alice J. Hopper and Barry J. Gibson wrote, “Look around. ... Truckstops are becoming travel plazas. The Holbrook store is located in ... an upscale, mall-type environment. The Westerner itself carries a fine line of clothing, most of it on the higher price scale. Simply put, it is representative of finer lines of western wear.
“Obviously, your sales are so great that you don’t require our business. Therefore, you shall not have it.
“Wrangler, here we come.”
—Deborah Whistler
Managing Editor