The company was started by Levi Strauss, who was born in 1829 in Buttenheim Bavaria. In 1847 Levi Strauss, his two sisters and mother sail for America, where they join half-brothers Jonas and Louis in New York. Levi joins their dry goods business.
At the age of 24 Levi Strauss arrives in San Francisco and opens a wholesale dry goods business, selling clothing, blankets, handkerchiefs, etc. to small general stores throughout the American West.
While the dry goods business was relatively successful, Strauss stumbled upon a product line that would make Levi’s a household name in the United States.
In 1873, Levi Strauss and Nevada tailor Jacob Davis patented the process of putting rivets in pants for strength, and the world’s first jeans – Levi’s® jeans – were born. He found the product popular among customers.
This first pant was the original 501® jean but it didn’t have that name yet: it was simply called “XX” —an industry term meaning highest quality, and also the term for the high quality denim used in their manufacture.
Levi Strauss dies at the age of 73. His nephews take over the business; their descendants still run the company today.
Levi’s brand
