Brands need to converse with consumers

Retailer: We have seen strong presence of celebrities in Levi’s ad and marketing campaign. How important is the star presence for Levi’s?

Shumone  Chatterjee (SC): Our strategy to use celebrities in India rests in the learning that the consumers here gets a lot of confidence when they see their icons wearing the brand that he or she will love to wear. So that really worked for us. In one shot you are suggesting that this works for you as it works for the celebs present in the campaign, be it Sushmita Sen or Akshay Kumar. The other reason is that we are in the business of style and fashion. People wear jeans at work, when they go out, even as evening wear or during adventure outing, etc. We have to see from where the fashion and style originate in this country. And no prize for guessing, it starts from Bollywood. It’s unlike the west and the European countries where some designers spread fashion and not the celebrities.

Retailer: How has been the performance of Levi’s Signature? How important is it for Levi’s to keep the price point in check?

SC: The performance of Levi’s Signature has been simply fantastic. It is very important for Levi’s to deliver the right value to the consumers. I think it’s less about the pricing and it’s more about the value you are delivering at the certain price. We at Levi’s are very much committed to deliver the best value at any price point we operate in. Today, consumers are seeking for more value than a low price. If we would deliver certain benefits to physical, emotional, rational, psychological, which makes the pricing look right, then you are going to get through this because people are willing to pay.

Retailer: What are the plans on expansion?

SC: We feel that there is still a lot of market available where we are not present. But these markets are in the tier III and tier IV towns. We are reading the market there and are waiting to get the signs that these markets are ready for the consumption of Levi’s.

Over the several few years, we will be looking to expand in the metros and tier I and tier II cities. Our major focus will be on these markets only for the time being.

Retailer: How important is the internet marketing and presence on social networking sites for Levi’s?

SC: Its’ very important. Our young consumers live on the net and very interestingly you cannot talk to them, you have to converse with them. That helps us to understand them better, helps us to offer a point of view with all the honesty and sincerity. Young people are very much concerned about how a brand operates in the society at large. We have more than 150,000 facebook fans, which we developed over a period of 3 months. There are so many comments on a single question. You get to understand them better. It is like you are talking to your consumer on a daily basis. We have four offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Calcutta and have got a full fledged team that works on these feedbacks. If we have a consumer complaint, we are on it in six hours.