First Levi’s Philippines store with hand-painting, embroidery opens in MOA
MANILA, Philippines — En route to blue jeans’ 150th birthday in 2023, iconic denim label Levi’s opened its flagship Philippine store at the second floor of SM Mall of Asia Main Mall in Pasay City yesterday.
The store is the first in the country to offer hand-painting and digital embroidery personalization services via its in-house Tailor Shop, said Signature Lines Inc. Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience Marielle Ardiente.
“Everyone’s like ‘my own identity;’ younger generations are like that, right? That’s why the brand’s personalization motto is ‘Started by us, finished by you’,” Ardiente explained in an interview with Philstar.com.
“As you can see, the concept of the store has become younger. Even the silhouettes have become target toward the younger people. The concept of the store in terms of lighting is not as dark anymore,” she described the store’s overall layout and ambience. Besides having roomier fitting rooms, there are digital in-store tools to help customers find their perfect fit.
Apart from its Tailor Shop that offers customization through patches, paneling, hemming and collectible pins, at the heart of the store is one of the brand’s core values, sustainability. As such, customers are not only welcome to bring their old Levi’s jeans to be refurbished by the Tailor Shop; shoppers can also check out new sustainable lines such as the Fresh collection, with partly biodegradable, plant-based apparel made of fruits and vegetables.
Ardiente recalled that the brand recently announced that 50 to 70% of its bottoms are already constructed using waterless technology. According to the United Nations, it takes a pair of jeans 7,500 liters of water from growing the cotton, to construction and even preparing it for selling.
Besides saving gallons of water, Levi’s, said Ardiente, takes pride of its classic 501 jeans made of sustainable organic cotton, as well as collections partially made of recycled water bottles.
True to the brand’s ethos of construction and durability, the store also carries Handmade in Japan collections.
“One of our goals is to extend the clothes’ lives to the fullest, for them to ‘wear longer’,” Ardiente emphasized.
Until June 26, shoppers can get a free upcycled sling bag for every P3,500 purchase from the new store. Until June 12, SM Advantage Card members get 10% off on all regularly priced items while Prestige members get additional 501 points for every P10,000 purchase.
After SM Makati and Mall of Asia, SM plans to open more Levi’s stores with a similar Tailor Shop concept in SMs Fairview, Megamall, North EDSA, Lipa in Batangas and in Tuguegarao.
Tuguegarao City, said Ardiente, is a “denim country,” just like San Francisco, California - the birthplace of blue jeans where trader Levi Strauss invented them to cater to gold rush prospectors.
Since their invention in 1873, Levi's jeans have become one of the most recognizable garments in the world, known for its classic American style and effortless cool. In 2019, Levi Strauss & Co.'s reported fiscal net revenues were $5.8 billion. Available in over 110 countries, the brand marks 501 Day every May 20.
Ardiente reported that their labor force has returned to pre-pandemic levels due to the surge of shoppers even on weekdays.
“Although we’re exactly not there yet, but we’re feeling that the pandemic is toward its end” – at least, in retail, she said.
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