Top Job at Levi Strauss Offers Retail Veteran a Second Chance
She turned the Frappuccino into a hit at Starbucks. At Kohl’s, she wooed the beauty chain Sephora to spruce up the department stores, but then battled with activist investors, who called for her removal as chief executive. Now, Michelle Gass is taking on her “dream job," as CEO of Levi Strauss, the 171-year-old denim maker that has given us 501 jeans, the trucker jacket and other wardrobe staples.
It’s another chance for Gass to showcase what she calls “no regret" moves—or small, low-risk bets that add up to big changes. She’s got a tough act to follow. Her predecessor, Chip Bergh, brought Levi Strauss back from the cultural graveyard to make it cool again.
He also restored it to financial health, culminating in a 2019 stock offering that returned the San Francisco company to public markets after more than three decades as a private enterprise. Gass needs to figure out how to keep the growth going, as consumers pull back on spending, particularly price-sensitive shoppers who tend to frequent department and discount stores, where Levi Strauss sells a lot of its products. It cut prices in those channels on some items last year, which helped to jump start demand.
On Thursday, the company said it would reduce its workforce by 10% to 15%, part of a restructuring that will save $100 million this year. Sales in the most recent quarter rose 3% compared with a year earlier, boosted by a return to growth in the Americas. She is taking the helm at a time when female CEOs are losing ground.
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