Levi's plans to return to the stock market

Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Levi Strauss & Co. is planning to go public again after an almost 35-year absence from the stock market.

The inventor of the blue jean filed for an IPO Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "LEVI."

"Our mission is to be, and be seen as, the world's best apparel company and one of the best performing companies in any industry," Levi said in its securities filing.

The 165-year-old company has hired Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan as lead joint book-running managers for the offering, it said in a media release.

The return to the stock market after 34 years shows that the once struggling, debt-riddled company had reinvented itself from a department store-reliant product, Fortune reported.

It the filing, Levi said it has expanded beyond its former staple men's jeans into women's jeans and clothing as well as other markets, lifting the company to $5.58 billion in revenue last year, a jump of 14 percent from a year earlier.

"We are focusing our product design and marketing efforts to reshape our global consumer perceptions from a U.S. men's bottoms-oriented company to a global lifestyle leader for both men and women," it said in the filing, adding that it will expand its product categories to include footwear and outerwear.

It also said it will be looking to the emerging markets of China, India and Brazil as long-term growth engines.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have yet to be determined, Levi said in its media release.

One of the risks the company might be subjected to in the future is an increase in costs due to an increase on tariffs for products imported from China and Mexico as Levi produces between 15 and 20 percent of its products in those two countries.

"If the Trump Administration follows through on its proposed China tariffs or replaces NAFTA with USMCA, or if additional tariffs or trade restrictions are implemented by the United States or other countries in connection with a global trade war, the cost of our products manufactured in China, Mexico or other countries and imported into the United States or other countries could increase, which in turn could adversely affect the demand for these products and have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations," it said in the filing.

The announcement was immediately felt by the retail industry Wednesday as shares for competitors American Eagle Gap and Abercrombie & Finch all dropped, CNN reported.

"The apparel industry is experiencing significant changes in how and where consumers shop for products, impacting the entire apparel value chain," Levi said in its filing. "We believe we are well-positioned to succeed in this environment."