Levi’s brand

The company (Levi Strauss & Company) is one of the world’s largest brand-name apparel marketers with sales in more than 100 countries.

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

Les Wexner the founder of The Limited

Leslie "Les" H. Wexner was born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in 1937. His parents, Bella and Harry, opened a clothing store - which they named Leslie’s – in downtown Columbus in 1951 and it was there that Wexner began learning about the apparel industry.

Young Wexner dreamed of becoming an architect but was discouraged by his father and instead went to Ohio State University to study business and law.

In 1963, Wexner borrowed $5000 from an aunt and opened his first store, The Limited. The name came from Wexner’s conviction that the store ought to specialize. The new store sold moderately priced, casual women’s sportswear. His ambitious were modest.

In its first year, The Limited achieved $160,000 in sales – about 60 percent more than he had expected. A year later, he opened his second store and by 1970 he had eleven stores.

After the company went public in 1969, he used some of the profit from the stock sale to further expand, and had built the chain up to 100 stores by 1976.

Wexner saw an opportunity in 1982 with the struggling lingerie company Victoria’s Secret. Wexner stepped in, bought it for a million dollars and embarked upon a major overhaul.
Les Wexner the founder of The Limited