Levi Strauss & Co’s CEO, Chip Bergh, posted an open letter on his LinkedIn page asking gun owners to leave their gun at home or in their car if they plan to visit one of his stores! While one can appreciate his concern for safety of his employees and customers, Bergh doesn’t seem all too concerned about their security even after citing locations where terror attacks have occurred!
‘… Providing a safe environment to work and shop is a top priority for us at Levi Strauss & Co. That imperative is quickly challenged, however, when a weapon is carried into one of our stores. Recently, we had an incident in one of our stores where a gun inadvertently went off, injuring the customer who was carrying it.
So, while we understand the heartfelt and strongly-held opinions on both sides of the gun debate, it is with the safety and security of our employees and customers in mind that we respectfully ask people not to bring firearms into our stores, offices or facilities, even in states where it’s permitted by law. Of course, authorized members of law enforcement are an exception.
With stores in Paris, Nice and Orlando, and the company’s European headquarters in Brussels, I’ve thought more about safety in the past year than in the previous three decades of my career because of how ‘close to home’ so many incidents with guns have come to impacting people working for this company….’
In an exclusive interview with Fortune, Bergh stated, “You don’t need a gun to try on a pair of jeans and it’s really out of respect for the safety of our employees and consumers shopping in our stores,”
Eh heh…
Can someone explain to Mr. Bergh that the incidents hitting ‘close to home’, in Paris, Nice, Orlando and their headquarters in Brussels, were all terrorist attacks carried out against defenseless people! The whole point of Americans carrying guns, where legally permitted, is to thwart a terrorist attack or a maniac going on a shooting spree! Furthermore, the majority of gun owners in the US have received training in one way or another, especially those carrying concealed carry permits and former military (like Bergh) or law enforcement!
If gun owners are not welcome in these stores than neither is their money! I’m sure other jeans manufactures with their own stores will gladly welcome gun owners business.