Levi Strauss To Sell Brittania Division

Levi Strauss & Co. said it plans to sell Brittania Sportswear Ltd., which makes discount clothing, to focus on its premium brands of Levi jeans, Dockers slacks and Slates dress pants.

Brittania’s casual wear is largely sold through discount chains, such as Kmart Corp. and DaytonHudson Corp.’s Target stores.

The Brittania brand, while popular in the 1970s and 1980s, has performed poorly in recent years, analysts said. Levi hasn’t supported the line with advertising and many stores are developing their own brand names, said Alan Millstein, publisher of the Fashion Network Report, an apparel industry newsletter.

“Why fool around with a business that’s under $50 million?” in annual sales, Millstein said. Levi’s had total sales of about $6.7 billion in 1995.

Renton, Washington-based Brittania employs about 120 people to make jeans, leather goods and underwear. Levi bought the company from Asian Pacific Industries in 1987.

“Our core competency is premium apparel brands distributed through premium channels. It’s what we do best,” said company spokesman Brad Williams.