However, it is Levi Strauss' Signature range of jeans, sold at 拢25 a pair, that will be sold through Tesco, along with other retailers including Asda.
According to reports, Signature is currently being trialled at 10 Tesco stores, but there could be a wider distribution agreement on the cards. The jeans are already on sale in 70 Asda stores.
Levi's and Tesco spent three years in court debating the retailer's right to sell the brand, before a final decision in July 2002. The case arose after Levi Strauss refused to supply Tesco with its clothes on the grounds that selling its products in supermarket aisles alongside tins of baked beans would damage the brand. In addition the clothes firm believed it had the right to decide where its products are sold.
Prior to the ruling, Tesco had been selling Levi 501s for 拢32.99, compared with the recommended retail price of around 拢50.
The Signature brand is Levi's response to cheaper jeans sold by clothing companies such as Top Shop and H&M, and is not likely to be supported in the UK with an advertising push. In the US the range is sold through Wal-Mart.
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