EXECUTIVE MOVES: NEW ROLES AT TRANDS AND LEVI’S

Custom clothing pro Derek Schacker (above) has joined Trands USA as VP/Creative Director and will be showing at the Chicago Collective booth #5121. Trands, a division of the Dayang Group, has been a leading maker of tailored clothing in China since 1995, offering both bespoke and machine-made production, with a focus on made-to-measure and luxury fabrics.

“Trands USA has grown about five-fold in the last 3+ years,” says Schacker. “Their custom clothing is available in three makes: standard, hand-made, and bespoke. They’re primarily custom but they’re now making a big investment in ready-to-wear, which I’m going to lead. This store-label ready-to-wear, an advanced-order collection for SP25 delivery (to be shown at the July/August ’24 markets), will give independent stores a much-needed tool to combat the many brands going direct-to-consumer. Our goal is to work with, not compete against, our retail accounts.”

Known for its exceptional craftsmanship and luxury fabrics (Holland&Sherry, Scabal, Reda, Ariston Napoli, etc.), the Dayang Group has captured the mid-to-high-end market in China and is poised for continued growth in the U.S.
Derek can be reached at derek@trandsusa.com.

Levi Strauss & Co., today announced that Michelle Gass has assumed the role of president and CEO, as previously disclosed in December. Gass follows Chip Bergh, who served as the company’s president and CEO for the previous 12.5 years. Gass brings extensive retail and omnichannel experience to LS&Co.’s top job and is expected to drive a strategic vision focused on accelerating international growth, positioning the Levi’s brand as a head-to-toe denim lifestyle apparel business and transitioning LS&Co.’s operating model to a direct-to-consumer (DTC)-first organization.

Today, Gass announced that LS&Co. is expanding its executive leadership team with two immediate appointments, emphasizing the company’s dedication to pivoting fully to a DTC-first, brand-led business model. Levi’s Chief Marketing Officer Kenny Mitchell and newly promoted Chief Merchandising Officer Dawn Vitale will join the executive leadership team, which, under Gass’ leadership, is responsible for setting the company’s overall direction and overseeing all major strategic, financial, and operational decisions. In addition, Gass announced the company’s plans to hire a president and chief commercial officer who will join the executive leadership team and be responsible for shaping its global commercial strategy and accelerating growth and profitability for the Levi’s® brand. These changes reflect Gass’ commitment to prioritizing growth and a consumer-centric approach throughout LS&Co.

“I’m thrilled and honored to guide Levi Strauss & Co. into its next era of growth. LS&Co. is a destination for the very best talent because of its history, its products and its values, and this past year I’ve had the unique opportunity to immerse myself in the business and meet so many members of our exceptional teams around the world. I cannot wait to see what we achieve together,” Gass said. “The addition of Kenny Mitchell and Dawn Vitale, as well as our new CEO of Beyond Yoga, Nancy Green, brings decades more of proven retail and consumer obsession to an already strong executive leadership team. I’m confident we have the right executive team and company strategies to accelerate our pivot to become a high-performing, DTC-first company.”

Mitchell brings more than 20 years of global brand-building experience to the Levi’s brand. He joined LS&Co. in 2023 from Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, where he served since 2019 as chief marketing officer and led the growth of the platform’s global community, advertising base, and developer partners.

Vitale is an accomplished senior merchandising executive with more than 20 years of experience in apparel category development and market expansion across international wholesale and retail channels. Before joining LS&Co. in 2018, she served as vice president of Tommy Jeans and head of merchandising for Calvin Klein jeans at PVH Corp., where she helped to introduce the brands to new consumers and build market share.