Quiet Launch for New Levi's Line

Jeans maker to rely on in-store ads to market discount brand

Levi Strauss & Co. will roll out its Signature discount line in Wal-Mart stores across the country next month with a strategy that depends almost exclusively on in-store advertising.

The jeans, unveiled at a Wal-Mart shareholders’ meeting two weeks ago, will be launched quietly in all 2,982 stores by July 15 with almost no ad support. The intent is to keep Signature from cannibalizing the more expensive Levi’s brands, sources said.