The digital shift is undeniable in many parts of Latin America, which are among the most connected economies on the planet, but the continent’s cultures are famous for a vibrant human spirit, and brands operating there must find the ideal balance between people and digital.
A high-profile example of this is leading American brand Levi Strauss & Co., 150 years in the making. It is now emerging as a LatAm favorite, using new strategies and styles in a part of the world where physical retail is still the heart of how shoppers like to engage.
Focusing on immersive store experiences, Levi Strauss Senior Vice President and Managing Director Latam Rui Araújo da Silva told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster that the brand is still in the early stages of using digital and data to inform experiences there. , leaving plenty of room to grow.
Asked about creating a deeper connection and engagement with the LatAm consumer, da Silva pointed to the opening of Strauss’ fifth Haus location in Mexico City earlier this year, noting, “Every day I see more that consumers buy not only the product … but the brand behind the product, the values and purpose behind the brand and the company. This is very important.”
This push is taking the iconic brand into new territory beyond its flagship 501 jeans and highly popular denim apparel, and the company is taking a measured approach to blending the digital with the physical while playing with cultural preferences.
“We are a lifestyle brand much more than a fashion brand or a fast fashion brand,” he said. “This is how we are trying to build it in Latin America. If we have the right product and the right brand behind it, the right values and the right purpose, I think it’s the perfect match.
“A good example is the Levi’s® Haus of Strauss we recently opened in Mexico. This is an example of where we want to take the brand and how we want to express the brand.”
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Engagement in any dialect
As for why the focus so far has remained largely on reinventing the physical retail experience as opposed to a full-court press on digital and direct-to-consumer (DTC), da Silva said there are different types of ” moment” that Levi Strauss has priority in this region.
Calling Haus of Strauss “something we use as a platform to pursue the engagement of key opinion leaders,” he said the reason it’s proving successful is because “it’s more of a statement where it’s about the culture of the country and the culture of Latin America. , because we want to connect the brand with the culture. It’s a statement of where the brand wants to go.”
A case study in how to test experiential retail concepts, Haus of Strauss takes the hassle out of shopping, immersing shoppers in a wholly authentic Mexican cultural expression that resonates with fans and inspires new generations to embrace a brand of inherited.
At that point, he said the question becomes, “Do we take that experience to our best stores with versatility, tailoring skills, personalization skills, etc.”
Levi Strauss’ flagship store on Mexico City’s main shopping street, Madero Street, is a major beneficiary of the lessons of the Haus of Strauss. They are taking that knowledge to other territories like Brazil, where digital is a major form of commerce and payments.
“We are starting testing, especially in Brazil,” he said. “Brazilians are more advanced in technology and access to technology, especially Sao Paulo and Rio. If you visit our stores in Mexico, we already have several stores with it [digital] skills. It has to come to the consumer because not everyone will have access to Haus.”
This is where more digital clientelism is making its way into the mix.
He continued: “We are Latinos. We like contact. If you have Karen on staff selling you, WhatsApping you about the new fashion things that are coming, that’s very important to us. But we continue to see the physical world as very active and positive. This is something in Latin America that should be a priority.”
See also: Levi’s Flexes Brand Power Pricing Muscles, Touts D2C Next Generation Store Success
Digitization of jeans
Saying that trying to embrace every e-commerce trend as it happens could cause a brand like Levi Strauss to lose focus of its core appeal, da Silva and his team are looking at mobile point-of-sale (POS) as a opportunity to connect the physical and digital connection. collecting valuable data.
He said that full digital integration is “still new to us. It is on our agenda. We’re still a bit behind if you compare us to the US or Europe, but it’s certainly something to open up a lot of opportunities.”
The mobile POS test starts in 2023, but he is true to the power of brick-and-mortar retail, saying: “I’m always telling the team that mobile POS in a clothing world, in a fashion brand, is not that as easy as going to Apple and buying your iPhone.”
Which is not to say that Levi Strauss in LatAm is behind the digital curve, per se, but it is taking a more thoughtful journey as it increasingly integrates omnichannel and DTC.
“We generate data, but now I think it’s more about generating more traffic in stores through media and engagement campaigns,” said da Silva. “It is also about the training of the staff, the functioning of the staff, which for me is much more important. It’s about human relationships, not just digital ones. I think we have to play the whole variety.”
While the Levi Strauss app isn’t yet a strong push in Latin America, he told Webster, “We’re still in that [digital transformation] phase, but the future will be about CRM loyalty, etc., as we already are [doing] in the USA and especially in Europe”.
Photo by Levi Strauss
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