‘Not only your lolo’s denim’: Levi’s Philippines taps younger market via new Next-Gen store concept

MANILA, Philippines — As a 151-year-old brand, among the challenges for American clothing label Levi’s is to not look its age, especially for a new generation of wearers.

As a solution, Levi’s Philippines recently debuted its Next-Gen store concept in its branch within SM Makati.

As the first shop-in-shop channel in the Philippines to embrace the updated format, Levi’s SM Makati sets a new benchmark in providing an immersive, modern, and convenient shopping experience in the bustling Makati area, the brand said in a statement.

The new format shows the store transforming into a more dynamic space, with more videos, lights, and an artist in addition to tailors in its own Tailor Shop, which encourages creativity through personalized services.

“Now, the brand cuts across generations from Boomers. Kasi dati, ‘pag sinabing Levi’s, pantalon ng lolo ko, daddy ko. But right now, even the young people feel that the brand is relevant to them so with this concept, parang we’re bringing everyone together. We’re bringing all kinds of styles and fits depending on what your body type and fashion style are. Everything’s available,” Marielle Ardiente, Signature Lines Inc. Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience, told Philstar.com in an exclusive interview. 

All their Levi’s boutiques have already adopted the Next-Gen store concept, but for Levi’s in SM Stores, the first one to have such concept is in SM Makati since this department store branch is among the most spacious for the brand, Ardiente noted.

“Ito kasi malaki s’ya, so mas madali s’yang paglaruan,” she added. “And also SM Makati is the center of the city.”

The brand’s aim to make the customer experience more relevant to the youth via the new store concept has so far paid off, she said.

“We just opened this layout October 2 and we already saw the significant spike in sales. So kasi ‘yung window sa labas, nakaka-attract na s’ya. Daanan pa naman ‘to pa-MRT. Dati, dadaanan lang talaga s’ya… But when they saw the videos, how alive it looks, then they’re compelled to buy,” she said. “The number one change that we saw is that it really attracted a new younger market to come in.”

The bestsellers at the store since its reopening into the new format were still denim pieces. 

“But we have tops, too. Ang Levi’s kasi dati predominantly male (market), but through the years, we have been attracting more women. So now, we’re growing in the women’s market especially now, uso ulit ‘yung mga wide-leg pants. We call it our Fashion Fits, so that’s our growth area. Plus the Tailor Shop. There are many Levi’s stores in Makati, but this is the only one with a Tailor Shop.”

The store’s Tailor Shop before only offered paneling and patches. The new store concept, however, expanded the Tailor Shop’s services to include buttons change, hand painting, and digital embroidery.

Starting today, the Tailor Shop’s in-house artists are now available for personalization requests from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., from Wednesday to Sunday.

For Christmas, the brand will be offering gifting ideas and special promos, Ardiente said.

“We are also planning to upgrade our other SM Store channels in the future,” she announced.

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