Levi's

Family-controlled the entire time. Public 1971, taken private by the Haas family in a 1985 LBO, public again March 2019 with a dual-class structure that gives Class B holders ten votes a share; the Haas descendants hold roughly 80% of the vote, and Margaret Haas alone holds about 30% of the stock. No PE, no conglomerate. Current CEO Michelle Gass (ex-Kohl's) since January 2024, running a DTC-first plan: Dockers sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2025 ($311M plus earnout), roughly $100M of the proceeds to buybacks, Beyond Yoga (bought 2021) as the growth bet.

The counterexample to our own rule. Family control is supposed to be the protective structure, and Levi's has had it for 173 years. It still closed all 63 US plants between the early 1980s and 2004, moved to contract sewing across 559 factories in two dozen countries, let ring-spun cotton go in the 1970s, lost its Cone White Oak denim when the mill closed in 2017, added stretch to most of the line, and answered the 2025 tariffs with price increases and a 'higher positioning' rather than a better jean. Longtime wearers report thinner cloth and crotch blowouts inside a year on 501s that used to last ten. The best 501 you can buy today is a Japanese reproduction from Fullcount or Warehouse, not a Levi's.