VOA慢速英语2019--Levi Strauss Goes Public Again

 

Levi Strauss is known as the company that gave America its first pair of blue jeans.

This week, the New York Stock Exchange suspended its "no jeans allowed" policy for one day to celebrate the company going public for the second time. Going public refers to an action a business takes to offer shares or stock that can be exchanged on the open market.

The new public offering comes at a time when Levi faces increasing competition and a changing market. The number of department stores is shrinking. And more women are wearing yoga pants or other athletic¹ sportswear – a trend some refer to as "athleisure."

Marie Driscoll is with the luxury and fashion Coresight Research group. She said the "athleisure trend made denim² not as comfortable. But denim brands [like Levi] have responded by adding stretch” to their jeans.

Levi Strauss has also tried to change its image. It focused on changing the fit of its women's jeans with more flexible fabrics³. The company has also partnered with famous celebrities⁴, including Justin Timberlake, and marketed at popular events, such as Coachella, a music and arts festival.

Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis invented jeans in the late 19th century. They received a patent to create workpants with rivets⁵, a kind of metal support. The rivets made the workpants stronger in certain areas, such as the pocket corners.

The company, 166 years old, previously⁶ went public in 1971. It became a private company in 1985, a decision made by the founder's descendants⁷.

Even with the new public offering, Strauss' descendants will likely still have a large influence over the company's major decisions.

Moving forward, Levi Strauss says it hopes to expand more into China, India and Brazil. It also plans on expanding its retail⁸ stores. As of late last year, Levi’s operated 824 stores.

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

jeans – n. pants made of a strong cloth (called denim)

offering – n. the sale of a company's stock to the public

yoga – n. a system of exercises for mental and physical health

sportswear – n. comfortable clothes that people wear for informal activities; clothes that people wear for playing sports

patent – n. an official document that gives a person or company the right to be the only one that makes or sells a product for a certain period of time

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 denim   

n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤

参考例句：

• She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤，一件白粗布工作服上衣。
• Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。

3 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

4 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

5 rivets   

铆钉( rivet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Straighten the rivets, please. 请把那铆钉铆直。
• Instead of rivets there came an invasion, an infliction, and a visitation. 但是铆钉并没有运来，来的却是骚扰、混乱和视察。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 descendants   

n. 后代，后裔 名词descendant的复数形式

参考例句：

• They were the direct descendants of the Dutch settlers. 他们是荷兰移民的直系后裔。
• They are the descendants of Queen Victoria. 他们是维多利亚女王的后裔。

8 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。