V A L U E S A N DV I S I O N

Reprinted / Updated© 2005 Levi Strauss & Co.

2

V A L U E S

O U R V A L U E S A R E F U N D A M E N T A L T O O U R S U C C E S S . T H E Y

A R E T H E F O U N D A T I O N O F O U R C O M P A N Y , D E F I N E W H O

W E A R E A N D S E T U S A P A R T F R O M T H E C O M P E T I T I O N .

T H E Y U N D E R L I E O U R V I S I O N O F T H E F U T U R E , O U R

B U S I N E S S S T R A T E G I E S A N D O U R D E C I S I O N S , A C T I O N S

A N D B E H A V I O R S . W E L I V E B Y T H E M . T H E Y E N D U R E .

FOUR CORE VALUES ARE AT THE HEART OF LEVI STRAUSS & CO.:

E M P A T H Y

O R I G I N A L I T Y

I N T E G R I T Y

C O U R A G E

T H E S E F O U R V A L U E S A R E L I N K E D . AS WE LOOK AT OUR

H IS TORY, WE SEE A S TORY OF HOW OUR CORE VALUES WORK

T O G E T H E R A N D A R E T H E S O U R C E O F O U R S U C C E S S .

VA

LU

ES VALUES

EM

PA

TH

YEMPATHY - WALKING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES

Empathy begins with listening ... paying close attention to the

world around us ... understanding, appreciating and meeting the

needs of those we serve, including consumers, retail customers,

shareholders and each other as employees.

Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis listened. Jacob was the tailor who

in the early 1870s first fashioned heavy cotton cloth, thread and

metal rivets into sturdy “waist overalls” for miners seeking durable

work pants. Levi in turn met Jacob’s needs for patenting and mass

production of the product, enthusiastically embracing the idea and

bringing it to life. The rest is history: The two created what would

become the most popular clothing in the world – blue jeans.

Our history is filled with relevant examples of paying attention to the

world around us. We listened. We innovated. We responded.

• As early as 1926 in the United States, the company

advertised in Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese, reaching

out to specific groups of often-neglected consumers.

• In the 1930s, consumers complained that the metal

rivets on the back pockets of our jeans tended to scratch

furniture, saddles and car seats. So we redesigned the

way the pockets were sewn, placing the rivets underneath

the fabric.

• In 1982, a group of company employees asked senior

management for help in increasing awareness of a new

and deadly disease affecting their lives. We quickly

became a business leader in promoting AIDS awareness

and education.

We are market driven, which means that we walk in our consumers’

shoes. In the company’s early years, that meant making durable

clothes for workers in the American West. Now, it means anticipating

the casual clothing needs of a broad range of consumers around the

world. Understanding and appreciating needs – consumer insight

– is central to our commercial success.

Being empathetic also means that we are inclusive. Levi Strauss’

sturdy work pants are sold worldwide in more than 110 countries.

Their popularity is based on their egalitarian appeal and originality.

They transcend cultural boundaries. Levi’s® jeans – the pants

without pretense – are not just for any one part of society. Everyone

wears them.

Inclusiveness underlies our consumer marketing beliefs and way of

doing business. We bring our Levi’s®, Dockers® and Levi Strauss

Signature® brands to consumers of all ages and lifestyles around

the world. We reflect the diverse world we serve through the range

and relevancy of our products and the way we market them.

Likewise, our company workforce mirrors the marketplace in its

diversity, helping us to understand and address differing consumer

needs. We value ethnic, cultural and lifestyle diversity. And we

depend and draw upon the varying backgrounds, knowledge, points

of view and talents of each other.

As colleagues, we also are committed to helping one another

achieve exceptional performance. We are sensitive to each other’s

goals and interests, and we strive to ensure our mutual success

through outstanding leadership, career development and supportive

workplace practices.

EM

PA

TH

Y EMPATHY - WALKING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES

EMPATHY - WALKING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOESE

MP

AT

HY

Empathy also means engagement and compassion. Giving back

to the people we serve and the communities we operate in is a

big part of who we are. Levi Strauss was both a merchant and

a philanthropist – a civic-minded leader who believed deeply in

community service. His way lives on. The company’s long-standing

traditions of philanthropy, community involvement and employee

volunteerism continue today and contribute to our commercial

success.

~

OR

IG

IN

AL

IT

Y

Levi Strauss started it and forever earned a place in history. Today,

the Levi’s® brand is an authentic American icon, known the world

over.

Rooted in the rugged American West, Levi’s® jeans embody freedom

and individuality. They are young at heart. Strong and adaptable,

they have been worn by generations of individuals who have made

them their own. They are a symbol of frontier independence,

democratic idealism, social change and fun. Levi’s® jeans are

both a work pant and a fashion statement – at once ordinary and

extraordinary. Collectively, these attributes and values make the

Levi’s® brand unlike any other.

Innovation is the hallmark of our history. It started with Levi’s®

jeans, but that pioneering spirit permeates all aspects of our

business – innovation in product and marketing, workplace practices

and corporate citizenship. Creating trends. Setting new standards.

Continuously improving through change. For example:

• In 1984 we relaunched our original, Levi’s® Shrink-To-

Fit® 501® jeans, and transformed the jeans category. In

addition to marketing rigid and rinsed 501® jeans through

groundbreaking TV advert is ing, we also introduced

innovative product finishes involving techniques such as

stonewashing and bleaching. Increasingly popular for

years to come on all styles of Levi’s® jeans, these finishes

dramatically changed the look of jeans fashion worldwide

and substantially fueled Levi Strauss & Co.’s growth.

• With the introduction of the Dockers® brand in 1986, we

created an entirely new category of casual clothing in the

United States, bridging the gap between suits and jeans.

ORIGINALITY - BEING AUTHENTIC AND INNOVATIVE

ORIGINALITY - BEING AUTHENTIC AND INNOVATIVE

A year later, Dockers® khakis had become the fastest

growing apparel brand in history. Throughout the 1990s,

we were instrumental in changing what office workers

wear on the job.

• In 2003, we created a new brand to offer stylish casual

clothing to a growing number of value conscious consumers

worldwide. Initially launched in the United States, the Levi

Strauss Signature® brand was the first full range of quality

jeanswear for men, women and children available in the

U.S. mass channel. We drove category growth within this

channel by establishing a premium jeanswear marketing

position that did not previously exist. And we did this

without cannibalizing our core Levi’s® brand business.

Now, more than ever, constant and meaningful innovation is critical

to our commercial success. The worldwide business environment is

fiercely competitive. Global trade, instantaneous communications

and the ease of market entry are among the forces putting greater

pressure on product and brand differentiation. To grow continuously,

it is imperative that we change, competing in new and different

ways that are relevant to the shifting times.

As the “makers and keepers” of Levi Strauss’ legacy, we must

look at the world with fresh eyes and use the power of ideas to

improve everything we do across all dimensions of our business,

from modest improvements to total reinventions. We must create

product news that comes from the core qualities of our brands –

comfort, style, value and the freedom of self-expression – attributes

that consumers love and prefer.

OR

IG

IN

AL

IT

Y~

IN

TE

GR

IT

Y

Ethical conduct and social responsibility characterize our way of

doing business. We are honest and trustworthy. We do what we

say we are going to do.

Integrity includes a will ingness to do the right thing for our

employees, brands, the company and society as a whole, even

when personal, professional and social risks or economic pressures

confront us. This principle of responsible commercial success is

embedded in the company’s experience. It continues to anchor our

beliefs and behaviors today, and is one of the reasons consumers

trust our brands. Our shareholders expect us to manage the

company this way. It strengthens brand equity and drives sustained,

profitable growth and superior return on investment. In fact, our

experience has shown that our “profits through principles” approach

to business is a point of competitive advantage.

This values-based way of working results in innovation:

• Our commitment to equal employment opportunity

and diversity predates the U.S. Civil Rights movement

and federally mandated desegregation. We opened

integrated factories in California in the 1940s. In 1960,

we combined our need for more production and our desire

to open manufacturing plants in the American South into

an opportunity to make change; we led our industry by

sending a strong message that we would not locate new

plants in Southern towns that imposed segregation. Our

approach changed attitudes and helped to open the way

for integration in other companies and industries.

INTEGRITY - DOING THE RIGHT THING

• In 1991, we were the first multinational company to

develop a comprehensive code of conduct to ensure that

individuals making our products anywhere in the world

would do so in safe and healthy working conditions

and be treated with dignity and respect. Our Terms of

Engagement are good for the people working on our

behalf and good for the long-term reputation of our

brands.

Trust is the most important value of a brand. Consumers feel

more comfortable with brands they can trust. Increasingly, they

are holding corporations accountable not only for their products

but also for how they are made and marketed. Our brands are

honest, dependable and trusted, a direct result of how we run our

business.

Integrity is woven deeply into the fabric of our company. We have

long believed that “Quality Never Goes Out of Style®.” Our products

are guaranteed to perform. We make them that way. But quality

goes beyond products: We put quality in everything we do.

INTEGRITY - DOING THE RIGHT THINGI

NT

EG

RI

TY

~

COURAGE- STANDING UP FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE

It takes courage to be great. Courage is the willingness to challenge

hierarchy, accepted practices and conventional wisdom. Courage

includes truth telling and acting resolutely on our beliefs. It means

standing by our convictions. For example:

• It took courage to transform the company in the late

1940s. That was when we made the tough decision to

shift from dry goods wholesaling, which represented

the majority of our business at the time, and to focus

instead on making and selling jeans, jean jackets, shirts

and Western wear. It was a foresighted – though risky

– decision that enabled us to develop and prosper.

• In the 1980s, we took a similar, bold step to expand our

U.S. channels of distribution to include two national

retail chains, Sears and JCPenney. We wanted to

provide consumers with greater access to our products.

The move resulted in lost business in the short term

because of a backlash from some important retail

customers, but it set the stage for substantial growth.

• We also demonstrated courage in our workplace

practices. In 1992, Levi Strauss & Co. became the first

Fortune 500 company to extend full medical benefits to

domestic partners of employees. While controversial

at the time, this action foreshadowed the widespread

acceptance of this benefit and positioned us as a

progressive employer with prospective talent.

CO

UR

AG

E

CO

UR

AG

E

With courage and dedication, we act on our insights and beliefs,

addressing the needs of those we serve in relevant and significant

ways. We do this with an unwavering commitment to excellence.

We are a team of high achievers. We hold ourselves accountable

for attaining the high performance standards and results that are

inherent in our goals. We learn from our mistakes. We change. This

is how we build our brands and grow our business. This is how we

determine our own destiny and achieve our vision of the future.

~

COURAGE- STANDING UP FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE

V I S I O N

VISION

THE STORY OF LEVI STRAUSS & CO. AND OUR BRANDS IS FILLED

WITH EXAMPLES OF THE KEY ROLE OUR VALUES HAVE PLAYED IN

MEET ING CONSUMER NEEDS. L IKEWISE , OUR BRANDS EMBODY

M A N Y O F T H E C O R E V A L U E S T H A T O U R C O N S U M E R S L I V E B Y .

T H I S I S W H Y O U R B R A N D S H A V E S T O O D T H E T E S T O F T I M E .

GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE WORN OUR PRODUCTS AS A SYMBOL

OF FREEDOM AND SELF-EXPRESSION IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY,

CHALLENGE AND SOCIAL CHANGE. THEY FORGED A NEW TERRITORY

CALLED THE AMERICAN WEST. THEY FOUGHT IN WARS FOR PEACE.

THEY INSTIGATED COUNTERCULTURE REVOLUTIONS. THEY TORE DOWN

THE BERLIN WALL. REVERENT, IRREVERENT – THEY ALL TOOK A STAND.

INDEED, IT IS THIS SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUR VALUES,

O U R C O N S U M E R S A N D O U R B R A N D S T H A T I S T H E B A S I S O F

O U R S U C C E S S A N D D R I V E S O U R C O R E P U R P O S E . I T I S T H E

FOUNDATION OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE WANT TO BECOME:

VI

SI

ON

P E O P L E L O V E O U R C L O T H E S

A N D T R U S T O U R C O M P A N Y .

W E W I L L M A R K E T A N D D I S T R I B U T E T H E M O S T

A P P E A L I N G A N D W I D E L Y W O R N A P P A R E L

B R A N D S .

O U R P R O D U C T S D E F I N E Q U A L I T Y ,

S T Y L E A N D F U N C T I O N .

W E W I L L C L O T H E T H E W O R L D .

1 8

V A L U E S A N DV I S I O N

Reprinted / Updated© 2005 Levi Strauss & Co.