Case Study: Levi's and Goodwill Industries

The Levi Brand partners with Goodwill Industries® for a day where assistant store managers from Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo & Marin Counties shadow Levi employees in a store to learn best practices for retail operations firsthand.

The Opportunity

Goodwill provides a number of training and employment services to people with disabilities and disadvantages all over the U.S.. The benefit to the Goodwill training program was taking a leading, contemporary retail process and allowing participants the opportunity to gather best practice, knowledge, and experience in a real-world setting to then take back and strengthen existing operations and programs.  Levi’s is recognized as a leader in this area and job shadowing their customer service representatives provided insight and perspective into leading practices.

Levi’s Pro Bono Investment

For the second year in a row, Levi’s partnered with Goodwill Industries for its annual 501 Day activities.  The partnership encourages employees and consumers across the country to support Goodwill® by participating in a denim drive.  In addition to the 10-day denim drive, the retail staff of Levi’s flagship store in San Francisco’s Union Square hosted 10 Goodwill store managers for a job-shadowing program to train the Goodwill employees on store operations.

Throughout the day, Levi’s employees share the company’s procedures for merchandising, store operations and customer service to provide a first-hand look at efficient retail operations.  The Goodwill managers, who also train program participants for jobs in the retail industry, will apply their lessons learned in Goodwill job training programs.  “Our goal is to help people learn the skills they need to succeed at work and climb the career ladder,” says Jim Gibbons, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “At Goodwill, we know that it takes effective training and support to be successful, in addition to a strong work ethic.”  In addition to the job shadowing program, Levi’s presented Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties with a grant of $5,000 and Goodwill Industries International with a grant of $10,000 to support Goodwill’s employment training, job placement and other critical community programs and initiatives.

The Impact

The shadowing day helps Goodwill employees manage their stores more efficiently and prepares them for teaching clients in the Goodwill job-training program.  “Millions of people across America want to work but need Goodwill’s help to find and keep a job,” says Jim Gibbons. “The job shadow day at Levi’s® Store offers a window into the operations of a very successful retail institution, which will help our trainers build the foundation for our clients’ success.”  Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo & Marin Counties employee Jolina Cansino, took note of the collaborative environment and found the program productive:  “I liked that Levi’s had a system.  Everybody was happy to be there…everyone had a great working relationship…I learned so much from Levi’s and I want the employees at my store to learn what I did.”

The Levi employees, who continually demonstrate an ongoing interest in volunteerism, found the experience incredibly rewarding, and enjoyed the opportunity to leverage their skills for the benefit of a nonprofit organization.

About Goodwill Industries

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 183 community-based, independent member organizations in the United States and Canada with 15 affiliated organizations operating in 14 other countries. Each organization serves people with disabilities, low-wage workers and other job seekers by providing education and career services, as well as job placement opportunities and post-employment support. Through its services, the network helps people overcome barriers to employment and become independent, tax-paying members of their communities. In 2008, more than 1.5 million people benefited from Goodwill’s career services. Goodwill Industries International reported an estimated $3.28 billion in revenue and channels 84 percent of its revenue directly into its programs and services.

About Levi’s

Since their invention by Levi Strauss in 1873, Levi’s® jeans have become the most recognizable and imitated clothing in the world -  capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations. Today, the Levi’s® brand portfolio continues to evolve through a relentless pioneering and innovative spirit that is unparalleled in the apparel industry. Levi Strauss & Co. and its employees contribute more than 12,000 hours of service globally each year on 71 Community Involvement Teams around the world. For more information about the Levi’s brand, its products and the Levi’s® Stores, visit levi.com.