Levi Strauss heir dies at 86
Peter Haas, who took over the family-owned Levi Strauss & Co. with his brother and helped build it into a socially-conscious clothing empire, has died. He was 86.
Haas died of natural causes on Saturday in his San Francisco home, said company spokesman Jeff Beckman.
A great-grandnephew of Levi Strauss, Haas teamed up with his older brother, Walter Haas, in 1958 and transformed the small maker of Western apparel into one of the world’s most famous clothing brands. He was with the company for 60 years.
“Throughout his career and in his personal life, my uncle Peter distinguished himself with his strong values and generosity,” said Levi Strauss board chairman Robert Haas. “His business accomplishments are a testament to his belief that you can both operate a successful company and have a positive impact on the community.”
As president of the company, Haas was a strong proponent of corporate social responsibility and worked toward racial desegregation of apparel factories during the late 1940s and 1950s.
When the company sought to expand to the South, Haas told local officials that Levi Strauss would only open manufacturing plants there if its black workers were granted equal status with whites.
His work led to his appointment to San Francisco’s Fair Employment Practices Commission – the state’s first – by former Mayor George Christopher.
“What I learned from Peter is you can win without compromising your integrity, self-respect and the things you most believe in,” San Francisco businessman and philanthropist Warren Hellman, a lifelong friend of Haas, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Haas and his brother took over Levi Strauss in 1958. Five years earlier, Time magazine had named the brothers “Leaders of Tomorrow”.
Under their leadership, Levi Strauss capitalised on post-war demographic changes, marketing an extended line of blue jeans to young people.
By 1971, when the company went public, Levi Strauss had nearly 20,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of €405m (€346m). The company has since gone private again.
Despite a stroke that kept him in a wheelchair in his later years, Haas remained active in his family’s philanthropic efforts.
