Is Levi Strauss a better investment than the UK’s fashion retailers?
Like many of the world’s fashion retailers, Levi Strauss has had a difficult few months, largely owing to its lack of investment in digital. Does this business simply need time to wear in, like a pair of original 501s? Or is this a case of well-informed sellers cashing in, ahead of a period of increased spending and tough trading? We've been taking a closer look.
IPOs have an often-deserved reputation for being poor investments. After all, the seller of a private company inevitably knows much more about the business and its outlook than the buyer. True to form, iconic US denim brand Levi Strauss & Co (US: LEVI) recently warned of slowing sales growth. The bad news came less than four months after its March 2019 flotation, a high-profile event that saw the New York Stock Exchange ditch its ‘no denim’ rule for the day. Investors who were able to buy shares at the initial offering price of $17 are still in profit – just.…