Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI) 2014 Q3 法說會逐字稿

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  • Operator

  • Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Levi Strauss and Company third-quarter 2014 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions). This conference is being recorded and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the Company. A telephone replay will be available two hours after the completion of this call through October 11, 2014, by calling 800-585-8367 in the United States and Canada and 404-537-3406 for all other locations. Please use conference ID 8330916. This conference call also is being broadcast over the Internet and a replay of the webcast will be accessible for one month on the Company's website, Levi Strauss.com. I would now like to turn the call over to Chris Ogle, Vice President, Investor Relations and Assistant Treasurer at Levi Strauss and Company.

  • Chris Ogle - VP of IR

  • Thank you. Good afternoon everyone and welcome to our quarterly conference call. I'm pleased to introduce members of the Levi Strauss and Company management team. With us here today are Chip Bergh, our President and CEO; and Harmit Singh, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, let me briefly remind you of a few items.

  • Our discussion today may include forward-looking statements that are based on our current assumptions, expectations, and projections about future events. Although these statements reflect the best judgments of our senior management, they involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the statements as more fully described in our annual report on Form 10-K, our registration statements, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on our future results performance or achievements. We provide information on our website about how we compile various measures used to describe our business performance.

  • Participants on today's call may discuss non-GAAP financial measures. You will find the appropriate reconciliations at the earnings webcast page in the investors section of our website as well as in our earnings press release announcing the third-quarter 2014 financial results which was furnished with the SEC today on Form 8-K.

  • Finally, today we filed our quarterly financial report on Form 10-Q with the SEC. You can link to our SEC filings from our website. Now, I'll turn the call over to Chip Bergh.

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • Thanks, Chris, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

  • In the third quarter we grew revenues despite the continuation of well-publicized industry pressures including soft retail traffic, heavy promotions, and declines in the women's denim category in the United States. Execution against our key strategic choices is making a difference. We grew our profitable core business while investing in our iconic products. Our international business, we are encouraged by the growth we saw in several key markets. We overcame the impact of lower traffic in our retail stores by driving higher conversion with compelling in-store programs and a focus on customer service and product.

  • And during the quarter we unveiled two new major marketing initiatives, the new Live in Levi's advertising campaign and the official opening of Levi's Stadium which has garnered more than 40 billion impressions since the announcement last year.

  • Although we expect the continuation of the industry pressures into the fall and holiday seasons, we believe that by maintaining our strategic focus on the things that matter most we will drive sustainable profitable growth long-term. Harmit will now walk you through the financial results. Harmit?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • Thanks, Chip, and a warm welcome to everyone joining our call. My comments today will reference third-quarter comparisons on a year-over-year basis in US dollars unless I indicate otherwise. Total consolidated net revenues for the third quarter of 2014 of $1.2 billion grew 1% on both reported and constant currency basis. Higher revenues in Asia and Europe were partially offset by lower revenues in the Americas. Globally, wholesale revenues were down 2%, largely driven by declines in our women's business in the Americas.

  • Company operated retail revenues grew 11% on a global basis reflecting our expanding store network and growth from our existing stores including double-digit growth from e-commerce. And the Levi's men's business continued to grow around the world. Levi's men's revenues were up 4% in total and sales grew in both the bottoms and tops categories.

  • Gross profit for the quarter was $562 million, down 2% from last year as the lower gross margin offset the revenue growth. Our third-quarter gross margin of 49% was 150 basis points lower than last year. The margin decline resulted from higher product costs and increased discounted sales compared to last year, in part reflecting the promotional environment and in part of our efforts to address high inventory levels.

  • Currency was neutral in the quarter. SG&A expense of $455 million was flat to prior year in dollars and 40 basis points lower as a percentage of revenues, despite charges of $8 million associated with the global productivity initiative. Excluding these charges the SG&A rate would have declined by more than 100 basis points, reflecting savings from the initiative. Our SG&A rates improved even as we continued to expand our retail network and spent $11 million more on advertising, primarily behind the launch of our Live in Levi's campaign.

  • Third quarter adjusted EBIT of $119 million declined 2% as compared to last year driven by the lower gross margin. Adjusted EBIT as a percentage of net revenues was 10%, down 30 basis points from last year. A detailed reconciliation of adjusted EBIT is attached to our press release. Third-quarter net income declined $6 million to $51 million, essentially reflecting charges related to the global productivity initiative.

  • Now, I'll share more detail on the third quarter results of our three regions. Net revenues in the Americas of $697 million were down 2% from the prior year on both a reported and constant currency basis. Growth in retail and in our Levi's men's business was offset by declines in our women's business at wholesale. The women's denim category declined again, but towards the end of the quarter Levi's introduced new products for women to begin to address issues we have discussed previously and early results are encouraging.

  • The Dockers brand declined in the third quarter. Recall that our Dockers women business is down compared to last year as we prepare to transition to a license model in the coming year. Men's Dockers declined modestly in the quarter as the overall category is down.

  • The region's lower sales and gross margin more than offset a decline in SG&A, leading to a decline in adjusted EBIT which for our regions is equal to operating income.

  • In Europe, net revenues grew 4% on a reported basis and 2% without the benefit of currency. Retail revenues grew from the expansion and improved productivity of our store network. Our wholesale revenues were flat to prior year. The efforts we made to improve product availability continue to drive sales in both men's and women's and our focus on retail helped to drive margin gains. Europe's adjusted EBIT was up, driven by higher gross margin and sales. We have seen some encouraging signs across Europe but are keeping our eye on the political unrest that currently exists in some pockets there.

  • In Asia, revenues grew 10% on a reported basis and 11% without the effect of currency. Revenue grew at our Company-operated stores, franchisees and in traditional wholesale channels. Our Revel products for women continue to perform well. The key markets of China, India, and Japan all grew, and while it's early days, it is encouraging to see these markets growing again. And we made progress managing inventory through price promotions which resulted in margin pressure in the region and lower adjusted EBIT.

  • The company's liquidity position remains solid as we continue on the path to build a stronger balance sheet. At quarter end we had $367 million in cash on hand and $606 million available under our credit facility, retaining total available liquidity of $1 billion. Net debt remained at year-end levels of less than $1.1 billion. Our leverage as defined by our gross debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 2.6 at quarter end was slightly higher than a year ago.

  • Third quarter inventory balances were 16% higher than prior year, which represents a deceleration in the rate of growth from recent quarters. Inventory growth was primarily concentrated in Europe and Asia where we've overcorrected this year in our attempts to restore reliable service internationally. Inventory growth was slightly elevated in the Americas due to lower than anticipated year-to-date sales.

  • By the end of the fourth quarter we expect inventory to be in line with prior year in our Americas and Asia region and a somewhat higher than prior year in Europe to maintain appropriate service levels, recognizing there is some downside risk to gross margins.

  • Free cash flow for the first nine months of the year was $4 million, including the cash consequences of the productivity initiative. Lower cash flow this year has also been driven by lower opening receivable balances, higher inventory procedures, and our lower year to date revenues.

  • We are pleased with the progress we're making on our global productivity initiative. Total charges related to this initiative for the third quarter were $10 million, comprised of $2 million in restructuring charges and $8 million in SG&A that I mentioned earlier. This brings total restructuring and related charges for the nine months to $103 million. The actions we have taken during the first nine months of 2014 are expected to deliver annualized savings of $100 million to $125 million net of investments we are making to drive growth. This includes the benefit of closing our manufacturing plant in Turkey which we announced in Europe last week.

  • In the fourth quarter, we expect additional productivity initiative charges. Although based on timing of the underlying activities, we do not expect the related cash payments to occur in our fiscal 2014. We will share more detail on the developments as they unfold, including related projected savings.

  • As we move into the fourth quarter, I want to remind you that our revenues and expenses will reflect that this fiscal year contains a 53rd week which includes Black Friday.

  • For gross margins, we previously estimated 50% for the full year. However we are tracking at 49.6% year to date and given the promotional pressures in the marketplace and our ongoing efforts to manage inventory levels we recognize the downside risk. We continue to expect full-year A&P at a similar run rate to 2013. And the fourth quarter will contain a non-cash pension settlement charge as well as the additional productivity initiative charges I mentioned. We've also taken our full-year capital expenditures estimate down to the range of $80 million to $90 million. Chip, back to you.

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • Thanks, Harmit. As I noted in my opening comments, we saw a continuation of several industry headwinds in the third quarter. While there was a sequential moderation in the traffic declines across retail, footfall remains relatively weak, particularly in the United States. As a result of soft industry traffic, the selling environment has remained very promotional. And as we've also discussed in recent quarters we are working through some internal and external challenges in the US women's business.

  • Here's what we're doing to address the issues. First, we've launched a new global marketing campaign called Live in Levi's. The campaign is based on the consumer insight that you wear other jeans but you Live in Levi's. Consumers have a deep emotional attachment to their Levi's and can tell stories about how they've lived their life in their jeans, in their Levi's. It's one of the things which separates this brand from other brands. Relative to prior campaigns, Live in Levi's is more product-focused and far broader reaching. We are highlighting the iconic products by telling the stories of the people who wear them, young and old and around the world.

  • In addition, in some of our largest markets this is the first time in several years that we've aired television advertising. The multiplatform campaign includes significant digital investments and is concentrated in key markets with meaningful revenue growth potential. The campaign launched in the United States in August and internationally in the fourth quarter. Early indications are very encouraging. We believe that by connecting directly with consumers and highlighting our icons in ways relevant to their lifestyles, we will drive mind share and ultimately sales.

  • Second, to offset the impact of lower store traffic we are driving strong conversion. As we noted at the beginning of the year, achieving our 2014 objectives will be all about the execution of our strategies and our results in retail reflect that focus. The stronger conversion is a direct result of efforts to improve customer service by implementing formalized training and development for our store associates. As evidenced by higher conversion in units per transaction, the training has empowered our store associates to help shoppers find the looks and the product that they want.

  • We are also leveraging our product and merchandising expertise to offer a compelling in-store experience. A good example of that work in action is the T-shirt bar we've recently added to several US outlet stores which is driving sales of tops and higher units per transaction. From a product perspective our renewed focus on icons and essentials such as the 511 jean, trucker jacket, and tees is also being met with notable success. The net effect of these efforts on third-quarter results was an increase in comparable direct-to-consumer sales across each of our regions in both brick and mortar and e-commerce.

  • Third, with respect to the Levi's women's business, late in the third quarter we began shipping the first flows of new products to address consumers' desires for softer, stretchier denim and better fits at US wholesale accounts. While we are still in the initial phases of the Levi's women's product relaunch, we are encouraged by both the initial sell in and the sellthrough rates of these products.

  • Outside the United States, our Levi's women's business continue to grow, especially in our Revel line. Notably this quarter was the first since the domestic category began to slide a year ago where total Levi's women's revenues grew on a global basis.

  • Finally, as Harmit discussed, we also continue to make progress on the global productivity initiative we launched in the first quarter, and we are confident we will achieve our goal of net annualized savings in the range of $175 million to $200 million. As a result of these actions, our organization will be more agile and we will achieve significantly improved structural economics. We are in the midst of sizing up additional opportunities and will share updates on our progress on the initiative later this quarter.

  • With that, operator we can open the line and we'll take your questions.

  • Operator

  • (Operator Instructions) Karru Martinson, Deutsche Bank.

  • Karru Martinson - Analyst

  • Just to look at the women's business a little bit more, when we look at the weaknesses in wholesale, how does that compare to what you're seeing within your stores? Were you seeing a better pick up on women's side or was that trend similar?

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • Karru, I would say that the softness in the women's business is more pronounced in the US wholesale business than in our retail stores. The product line is a different line. We tend to sell more of the premium product in our retail stores here in the US. We've got Revel in our retail stores for example. You can't find that in wholesale. The wholesale business skews to a lower price point and it really is a totally different line and to some extent even a different consumer. So the wholesale business is more challenged than our retail business is kind of the short answer.

  • Karru Martinson - Analyst

  • I mean, there's been a lot of talk that the women's business or women's bottoms are focused more on the athlete leisure wear, yoga pants and things of that nature. Is that kind of where you see those dollars going, or is that customer just not shopping right now?

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • The answer is yes. So, athleisure is definitely a trend that's out there. The premium part of the women's denim business is what's in the steepest decline here in the United States, and it is tending to move to the $100 yoga pants, if you will. And all you've got to do is walk around the main street in any city and you see it, right?

  • The other thing that's happening though is this trend towards softer stretchier denim and that kind of product is available below $35. So if you look at the denim category below $35 in the US it's actually growing. And because of this soft stretchy denim that women are looking for. That's part of the product line which we now have put into the market here in the US wholesale which will address kind of what the consumer is looking for is that softer, stretchier denim. So our expectation is that by having the right product in the marketplace in wholesale that we will at least begin to stem the decline of the denim market here in the US and over time hopefully rebuild share and get the category heading in the right direction.

  • One other I guess sidebar to remind everybody, we have said that the women's reset -- that what we're launching right now in the marketplace is not all. So, we will have more coming over the next 12 months to address that changing consumer need.

  • Karru Martinson - Analyst

  • Okay and just lastly from a big picture perspective in terms of trends, there's also been a lot written that denim is having a comeback on the runways for next year, that you are seeing it both in men's and women's. Do you feel that that's an opportunity for you or is that just more hopeful headlines?

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • I believe it's an opportunity. I also think the fact that we are back on air advertising on television with broad marketing reach, not just here in the US but globally, but that is certainly going to drive the category as well. And as we do that I suspect our competitors will respond and it should -- the water level should rise and float more boats. I think it will be good for the category overall.

  • Karru Martinson - Analyst

  • Thank you very much guys, appreciate it.

  • Operator

  • Carla Casella, JPMorgan Asset Management.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • It's actually just JPMorgan Securities. My question is related to wholesale business. Can you just talk about now that we've anniversaried almost more than a year now the denim bars at JCPenney, and the new management strategies there, how are you seeing that business trending and then how are your new presentations in the other wholesalers as well?

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • Okay, so I'll take a first shot at this. We try not to talk specifically about our business results on a customer-by-customer basis. We continue to think that the denim bar and the way we present the brand at Penney's has been a breakthrough for us. I will tell you that recently we've seen a significant deceleration of our business there as they have shifted their strategy to begin putting more focus back again on their private label business which is out there kind of publicly. And it has impacted our business a little bit here over the last one or two quarters. But we do think that the step change in the consumer presentation bringing to life the Levi's equity in-store which we first executed in JCPenney and have now started kind of replicating in a very customer-specific way at other customers has been a step in the right direction from men equity building standpoint.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • That's great. And then on this -- can you just talk about your outlook for sourcing costs? We've heard a lot from different apparel companies in terms of cotton versus labor versus shipping. Can you give us your outlook?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • Yes, so our perspective is that if your question is specific to cotton, we have all seen a decline in cotton. We expect that decline to impact us favorably in the second half of next year. In terms of inflationary pressures, we are seeing a little, but given the scale of our operations we think over time we can offset that and more through supply chain efficiencies.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • And maybe just one more. On the Asia business, any impact from the Hong Kong protests?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • It's been marginal so far. We are keeping a close eye for it. Hong Kong as a percentage of total Asia business is small.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • Okay. And then just any -- you mentioned that you continue to see industry pressures through fall and holiday. We heard a lot on back-to-school that it kind of started out strong in August and tempered off in September. Can you give us any color in just terms of back-to-school views?

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • Well, the back to school for us falls predominantly in the fourth quarter, so all I can really comment on his through the end of August. And I would say that our business pretty much tracked and mirrored what you just said that back-to-school started off strong. I really, because we're in the fourth quarter and will report fourth quarter and February, can't really comment on what's happened after we got into this quarter.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • Understood, thank you.

  • Operator

  • William Reuter, Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

  • Jenny King-Dugan - Analyst

  • This is Jenny in for William. My first question is what are you hearing about sellthrough at retail?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • Our retail or retail in general?

  • Jenny King-Dugan - Analyst

  • In general.

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • You know, it's tough out there. Traffic continues to be down. As Chip reflected in his comments, we are offsetting negative traffic declines through positive sales largely driven by conversion and higher UPT. So from our perspective, things are a lot more positive than market realities are.

  • Jenny King-Dugan - Analyst

  • Okay, great. Thank you. And then my next question is: do you consider any of your inventory to be in excess because it is up year over year?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • We do have some excess inventory, and we are managing through that. As I said in our -- in my script that our intent is that by the end of the year inventory levels would come down to levels flat to last year. If you look at it geographically, the inventories in Americas and Asia we think will be flat. Europe will be slightly higher. Inventories overall are up largely because of two reasons. One, internationally we have increased our service levels and that's largely driven by higher inventory domestically. Our sales have been soft in the US and that's caused a bit of a inventory buildup. We are working that down through aggressively managing inventory and our -- it's impacting our margins as have been reflected.

  • Jenny King-Dugan - Analyst

  • Okay, great. Thanks so much.

  • Operator

  • Jenna Giannelli, Citigroup.

  • Jenna Giannelli - Analyst

  • I have a question about how we should really be thinking about the fourth quarter. I think you said in the press release that you are still expecting to manage the gross sales and adjusted EBIT this year, but as we think about maybe more pressure gross margin heading into the fourth quarter, is that going to be a function of your confidence on maybe some of the sales growth or the new women's line for 4Q, or is it going to be coming through more so on the SG&A side? Thanks.

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • I think the way to think about our fourth quarter -- we have a positive outlook on revenue largely driven by timing. As we reflected, we have an extra week and that's black Friday. So that should help us anywhere in the range of 2 to 3 percentage points for the quarter. Margins will be under pressure as we manage to inventory and we are in a fairly promotional environment. SG&A costs, we expect it to be down largely because of the productivity initiative we are talking about. So interest rates on SG&A should be better than where they are today. And that should reflect our fourth quarter. The only other thing we said is as you think about the year, we've taken CapEx down a notch from where we had it earlier. Does that address your question?

  • Jenna Giannelli - Analyst

  • Yes, absolutely. Thank you very much. Actually, it leads into my second question. On the CapEx reduction, I know it is kind of a small amount, but what is that related to? Is it on maybe fewer new store rollouts? Or if you could give any clarity there.

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • Yes, it's not fewer new stores. In fact our new store build program is panning out as we've thought it would at the beginning of the year. It's largely driven by the fact that -- we've shared over the last couple of quarter or two we've hired a new CIO and we've brought in a new e-commerce leader. And as they reflect on their strategies going forward, we've taken a bit of -- we've held back on some CapEx just to make sure that it lines up with the long-term strategic thinking. So, that is the reason for the pullback. Marginal pullback, I'd say.

  • Jenna Giannelli - Analyst

  • Okay, great, and then just one final question if I may. This is kind of to dovetail off of Carla's question. But in terms of the 150 bps gross margin contraction year-over-year, can you quantify a bit or break out how much really was related to higher product costs and then how much of that was promotional? Thanks.

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • It's difficult for me to quantify with absolute precision but I would say the sustainable piece of it over the next couple of quarters is going to be the margin impact because of discounts and managing inventory down. The product costs are, I would say, they are made up of a whole bunch of separate drivers, none of which are material and none of which in our view would sustain longer-term.

  • Jenna Giannelli - Analyst

  • Okay, great. Thanks a lot.

  • Operator

  • Grant Jordan, Wells Fargo.

  • Grant Jordan - Analyst

  • Just to maybe get a little more detail on the cost savings, can you clarify how much cost savings you realized this year and then kind of how much incremental we should expect to see going forward?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • What I said about cost-saving is our run rate and SG&A continues to decrease. We are in the process of taking another look at our productivity initiative. And it's our intent that when we report quarter four earnings we will clarify for you exactly what the run rate on SG&A should be in 2015 and beyond. The good news for us is that we're making -- this is making a difference in improving the structured economics of our business. And I'd just ask you to be patient for another quarter before we get into a lot more detail.

  • Grant Jordan - Analyst

  • Okay. And in terms of what you've actually done this year, have you given how much of that $100 million and $125 million that you've recognized?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • We haven't disclosed that. It's a little difficult to quantify largely because we've got charges, et cetera, associated with it. So what we thought will do is when we report quarter four we will provide a perspective on the impact in 2015 which gives you a better perspective what the annualized number is.

  • Grant Jordan - Analyst

  • Okay. All right, thank you.

  • Operator

  • Todd Harkrider, UBS.

  • Todd Harkrider - Analyst

  • Congratulations on a good quarter. Can you talk about how the strong US dollar, how that should impact your results over the next six to nine months? And typically you like to be conservative and push short data maturities out well in advance of maturity date. Does the stronger US dollar change your view at all when you should address the Japanese and the euro bonds? Thanks.

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • You know, not really. It is something we are looking at. Having said that, the way we look at our borrowings and the debt we have we are looking at it more from should we take advantage of the capital markets or not? Our bonds are callable. It comes at a cost. So, again, we look at the economic equation, and that's one. We are looking at the second is just cash flow needs of the Company. So, I say stay tuned. It's something we're taking a look at, but more to come over the next couple of quarters.

  • Todd Harkrider - Analyst

  • Okay, sounds good. Then your 10-Q, under the business segment breakout it shows your corporate cost going up $6 million year-over-year, but then when you go to the detailed SG&A breakout it shows your admin costs going down by $7 million and then when you back out the charges it was down $15 million. Can you help us understand the delta there or am I looking at it kind of apples and oranges in that comparison?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • I'm not really sure on the specifics. So why don't we take that -- the question on point I will get back to you.

  • Todd Harkrider - Analyst

  • I appreciate it, thank you. Again, good luck with all of it.

  • Operator

  • Hale Holden, Barclays.

  • Hale Holden - Analyst

  • Thanks for taking the call. I had a few. On the fourth quarter margin or the margin gross margin outlook for the year I was wondering if you could sort of scale how much of that was due working your inventory down and increased discounts versus just the promotional environment at large, sort of trying to figure out how much is under your control and not under your control.

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • Are you asking about quarter three or quarter four, because we've not guided on quarter four.

  • Hale Holden - Analyst

  • You haven't guided on quarter four, but you did say that we'd be down on a little lower than the prior gross margin expectation for the year related to getting your inventory down and then the promotional environment that's outstanding in the US.

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • I'd say it's a combination. Difficult to quantify with precision, but I'd say both factors are contributing to it. And you know both are within our control. Even as the markets are clearly promotional, we can take the decision not to but then you out compete yourself from that perspective. So, we look at the size of our discount, putting on a commercial hat and saying okay, does this drive good revenue or bad revenue from that perspective? I think on be inventory side, it will have an impact and that's, again, a week-by-week decision as, again, something we can predict with exact precision for the quarter.

  • Hale Holden - Analyst

  • Okay and the second question was on the production cost increases that you noted in the third quarter. Was there something specific that was driving that or just a bunch of small things?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • It's just a bunch of small things. Again, nothing material. For example, there was a few products that we were trying to get to our customers or consumers as we reset some of our things like on the women's side, typical costs associated with that effort for example. So the small insignificant things there added up, and we decided to call it out.

  • Hale Holden - Analyst

  • Okay and then last question, Chip, you had talked last quarter kind of around demand generation from the new advertising campaign, both you and some of the other larger jean store companies in the US were doing this fall. I was wondering if that was turning out the way you thought it was and you were seeing the ROI associated with the advertising you hoped.

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • It's still early days. I mean, we have I think two or three weeks to copy on air in the US through the end of the third quarter and way too early to really call it. We are running some tests. What I can say is that we quantitatively tested the advertising before it went on air, qualified it and quantitative testing. So we feel bullish about it, but it's really too early to call the ball on it.

  • Hale Holden - Analyst

  • Great, thank you very much, appreciate it.

  • Operator

  • Kevin Coyne, Goldman Sachs.

  • Kevin Coyne - Analyst

  • Good afternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. Most of mine have been asked and answered. But I was just wondering bigger picture, since where I sit I don't have a good sense as to how long the athletic trend can continue, I was just wondering do you comp this to any other trend you seen the past? And secondly, are you doing any type of, let's say, research or development in terms of something that you could introduce to compete or comp with that, or would you just potentially consider ever acquiring a business to add that on?

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • I guess probably the -- it's going to sound like a quip, but we've been selling blue jeans for 141 years. And I think we probably seen it all in terms of trends and fads that have come and gone, and I would put this into that category. There's no question there's a trend. As I've said earlier, just walk down the street right and you see it. I suspect it, too, will have its passing time.

  • The one thing that is happening in denim which I referred to earlier is consumers really are looking for that, especially women, super soft, super stretchy material. As jeans go, slimmer and tighter fitting. That stretch and that comfort from the softer denim material is something that they are looking for, and we are now responding to that with the right kind of products to address that and hopefully that will stem the tide and slow the decline in the category. And we'll begin to see it stabilize and then we'll be but to grow it with further innovation.

  • Kevin Coyne - Analyst

  • Is there anything you are hearing from those, let's say, reviews of your soft denim relative to someone who also wears the athletic line what can be improved or what they like better? Is that a potential improvement down the road?

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • Yes, we are clearly moving in the right direction. I mean the response from customers as we have sold that new product in has been very, very positive from our customers, if you will. And as we mentioned in the prepared remarks, the sellthrough has been encouraging. It's still, again, early, but clearly, staying in touch with what the consumers are looking for and responding to what they want from a product standpoint will help get this category growing again. And clearly where the puck is going in part driven by athleisure, that tight, super stretchy material -- that's what we responding with.

  • Kevin Coyne - Analyst

  • Okay, great. Thank you.

  • Operator

  • Carla Casella, JPMorgan.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • I just had one follow-up. You mentioned the e-commerce business was up solidly. When you talk about e-commerce, are you including yours and third-party or is that just from your own site?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • No, it's only on our site.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • Can you say how you're selling through your wholesale customers' online businesses?

  • Harmit Singh - EVP and CFO

  • Yes, we don't specifically disclose that, but the business is up.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • Okay.

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • Just to build on that though, too, Carla we build our own internal capabilities in e-commerce and digital assets and everything. We are working with our largest wholesale customers. I'm kind of ambivalent to where the consumer buys Levi's or Dockers. I just want them buying our stuff and if they buy it off of Macys.com or Penney's dot com that's okay with me. So, we are sharing our digital assets and working closely with their e-commerce teams as well to kind of work together to drive the Levi's and the Dockers brands.

  • Carla Casella - Analyst

  • Great, makes sense. Thanks.

  • Operator

  • At this time, I'd like to turn the floor back over to the Company for any closing remarks.

  • Chip Bergh - President and CEO

  • I just want to thank everyone, again, for calling in. It's going to be a while before we talk again as we kind of round the corner heading towards home and closing the fiscal year on the final Sunday of November, right after Black Friday. And our next call won't be until February, so I wish you all happy holidays, and we'll talk to you again in a few months. Thank you.

  • Operator

  • Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Please disconnect your lines at this time.