Levi Strauss reviews

The company that the Haas family built is slowly disappearing without the strong leadership in values and humane treatment shown by the Haas brothers, and the torch has not been passed (or picked up) by their successors. People still cling to myths like "we have no politics," which is admirable in itself, but is still turning a blind eye to a changing reality. Levi's is an aspirational brand, and its corporate values are great, but in its subsidiaries across Asia, the corporate culture is inconsistent with its stated values, even in places like Japan where the brand has been strong for a long time. Most employees I have met believe they are underpaid compared to the competition although this was not true for me. The company has also been very slow or inconsistent in executing its "winning strategies," so business results have not been good, but with its heavy debt load, the company can't focus on the long term, so it behaves like a public company.

OK, I'll try a different approach to my review since my earlier version apparently contained items that resulted in it being removed . . . . . . Ideas good, execution not so much -- If you want to create a performance culture, as they say they do, you have to actually start doing things differently. For example, the company's "Be a winner" (or words to that effect) campaign to elevate performance levels consisted of brochures and posters with clever sayings and motivational comments. That's it. No new training, no process changes or improvements, no new tools or technologies. Just posters and slogans.