#204: Levis – Did NOT Invent Denim

Levi help Jacob patent the famous rivet on the Levis jeans that make the pockets so durable. That is how Levis starts to build the empire. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Simple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients. So here’s one of those. [OG Law Ad] Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, Dave Young, here alongside Stephen Semple. We’re talking about empires, we’re talking about things that people built, businesses, and you know what I mean, empires. Stephen Semple: That sort of thing. Dave Young: What don’t you get about empires? Come on. Boy, the one you just whispered in my ear as the countdown started, I know a little bit about it just because it’s like a classic business lesson. Right? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: If you’re going to follow the gold rush, man, don’t dig for gold, sell to miners. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Big time. Dave Young: You said it’s going to be Levi’s, so I assume Levi Strauss and Company. Stephen Semple: Yep. Dave Young: This is the guy that started the little store to sell to the miners out in California. Stephen Semple: Yeah. We’re going way back because Levi Strauss was founded May 1, 1853. So we’re going way back. Today, it’s trades on the stock exchange under L-E-V-I, Levi. They’ve got 3,400 company operated stores. They do like 6 billion in sales and almost 19,000 employees. It is the best selling five pocket gene out there. Dave Young: I don’t even think about them as having stores for some reason. That must be outlet mall kind of things. Stephen Semple: Yeah, I think that’s primarily what they are because, again, I was the same. I looked, I went 3,400 stores, boy. It’s one of those ones you just don’t think about it. Dave Young: Yeah. In high school, man, if you weren’t wearing Levi, button-up five-pocket jeans, you weren’t cool at all unless you had the Jordache back in the day designer jeans. Stephen Semple: There you go. Dave Young: You either go standard Levi’s or full designer. God help if your mom bought you Lee. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Or some off-brand from Sears. Stephen Semple: Yep. Oh yeah. Then it was going to be a rough week at school. Dave Young: Well, take us back to 1853. Stephen Semple: The other thing that’s interesting is they hold the original patent for the rivet in the jeans. They actually hold the original patent for that. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: You know the little rivet that you see in the jeans? Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: That’s their original patent. Dave Young: Well, that’s cool. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Now, jeans were not invented by Levi, so that’s often a misconception. The company was started by Levi Strauss, and Levi was a Bavarian immigrant. He actually first had a business doing dry goods in New York City. He built that business basically selling these dry goods door-to-door. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: As you were talking about, Dave, he hears about this thing called the Gold Rush in California. The boom is amazing. I knew it was a boom, but I didn’t realize this. In the two years from 1849 to 1850, the population in San Francisco grew from 1,000 people to 25,000 people in two years. Dave Young: I know the Oregon Trail, but man. Stephen Semple: That is just mind blowing. Dave Young: I think a fair number of them actually sailed around South America. Stephen Semple: When people talk about it being a boom and a rush, you go, holy jumping, like, wow. Just amazing. And as you said, he decides to go to San Francisco, not to pan for gold, but to sell clothing and other retail items. So he arrives in San Francisco in May of 1853. He opens a store on 62 Sacramento Street. Does really well. After eight years, he’s made like $4 million, that would be like 72 million in profit today. Dave Young: No kidding? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And as we mentioned, he doesn’t invent jeans. He’s only part of the story. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: Enter Yaka Buffus from Latvia. When he immigrates the United States, his name changes to Jacob Davis. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: He’s a tailor. He’s done all sorts of business from clothing to brewing beer to pork wholesaling. He tries a bowling alley. None of them last more than six months. In 1870, he’s in Reno, Nevada, and he’s finally getting something working. He’s making a living sewing things, and he’s making overalls using duck cloth. In fact, one of his suppliers is Levi’s. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: It’s one of his suppliers. He’s now making money. He has a ...