Race for China's wallets

SHANGHAI -- Jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. launched a new global brand in China on Wednesday, joining a growing list of companies that hope to crack this fast-growing and youthful market by tailoring products to Chinese tastes.

Models at the launch were wearing sneakers and high-heeled sandals: not a cowboy hat or boot in sight. The new brand is aimed at young consumers in emerging markets, starting with China, Singapore and South Korea.

From Nissan sedans to watches and Hermes luxury goods, global companies increasingly are designing products and brands with the Chinese market in mind as incomes rise amid rapid economic growth.

The newest incarnation of Levi's will aim at a broader segment of Chinese consumers than traditional Levi's, which sell for more than $100 in the upscale malls along Shanghai's tony Nanjing Road shopping strip.

"In the last few years we've seen a new group of consumers," said Aaron Boey, president for Levi Strauss' Asia-Pacific division. "Many of them want stylish clothes but at accessible prices," he said. Levi is calling the new brand Denizen.

The Levi's brand enjoys an avid following in China among a relatively limited number of well-off younger shoppers, some of whom are collectors.

"Some people favor the classics, such as No. 501; others look for different designs and some are obsessed with Levi's cowboy spirit or the history behind the brand," said Christina Wong, managing editor of Instyle magazine in Shanghai.

Already, sales of garments and shoes in China have outpaced Japan's, accounting for more than a third of all of Asia -- and, increasingly, fashion-conscious Shanghai is viewed as a foothold for the region.

A slew of retailers have crowded into the city's department stores and malls, from luxury brands like Louis Vuitton to more affordable labels like Esprit and H&M. In May, Japan's Fast Retailing opened a mammoth flagship Uniqlo outlet on Nanjing Road, where crowds lined up for weeks to check out its latest line of China fashions.

From beverages to shampoos, global companies are finding ways to appeal to local consumers with made-for-China brands.

On a more upscale note, Hermes International's new China brand of clothing and other products, Shang Xia, will debut with the opening of its first store next month in Shanghai.

Levi Strauss, which retreated from the China market for a time in the mid-1990s, citing concerns over labor rights, now has hundreds of outlets in China and plans to open up to 1,000 by 2015.

The new label Levi's jeans will sell for the equivalent of $40 to $60 -- a range likely to suit the relatively young 20-to-40 age range that dominates China's spending on clothing and accessories.

The first Denizen shop will open later this month in Shanghai.

With Lee, Diesel and other big brands coming on strong, there is plenty of competition.