Anita Fung, who spent more than two decades at the Asia Pacific helm of Burberry and Alexander McQueen, stepped into her new role as managing director for Levi Strauss & Co. Greater China. She has been tasked with winning back denim authority, accelerating direct-to-consumer growth, and building a brand that Chinese consumers deliberately choose. In a conversation with Inside Retail, Fung spoke about what drew her to the company, how her thinking on Chinese consumers has evolved and wh
and why the biggest risk in a fast-moving market is often losing focus.
Inside Retail: You’ve spent more than two decades in fashion across Asia. What was the pivotal moment that defined your career trajectory?
Anita Fung: I’ve had the chance to build brands through very different cycles in Asia, but the common thread has been consumer obsession – getting close to culture, translating insight into product and experience, and being disciplined about what the brand stands for. That approach consistently opens the next door.
IR: What drew you to Levi Strauss & Co at this stage?
AF: I joined LS&Co because it’s a rare combination: an iconic brand with real cultural equity and a tremendous opportunity to sharpen our brand expression and accelerate disciplined DTC growth in Greater China.
What I’ve seen on the ground is a team that cares deeply about craft and the consumer. That matters because we’re at an important inflection point in Greater China, getting razor-sharp on what Levi’s represents, winning back denim authority in our most important cities and doors, and executing with higher consistency across every touchpoint.
IR: You’ve operated across multiple market cycles in China. How has your view of the Chinese consumer evolved, and what are global brands still getting wrong today?
AF: China’s consumer base is more segmented and more discerning than ever, and culture moves at extraordinary speed. What’s changed most is the high bar for authenticity: consumers want product credibility, local relevance, and a brand point of view they can believe in.
Global brands still get it wrong when they rely on generic storytelling. The winners are precise. They listen city by city, translate insight into action, and deliver connected online-to-offline experiences that feel personal, not transactional.
For Levi’s, that means showing up with denim authority and culturally relevant storytelling and being disciplined about where we play and how we execute.
Recent examples include our recent “Behind Every Original” Taipei pop-up with the Rose x Levi’s collaboration and our upcoming one in Chengdu: these are built to convert digital interest into an immersive store experience through community panels and workshops, plus, in the case of Chengdu, Chengdu-rooted details like a denim art installation co-created with local female artists and tea craftsmen. Executed well, these moments build brand heat and strengthen DTC momentum.
In a market like Greater China, we’re combining that kind of cultural activation with sharper merchandising, stronger retail execution, and a more joined-up approach across teams so the brand feels consistent wherever consumers meet us.
IR: What does effective leadership look like in a market as fast-moving and unpredictable as Greater China?
AF: In Greater China, effective leadership is clarity at speed, setting a clear point of view, making decisions fast, and enabling teams to execute with confidence. It also means operating as one cluster: clean owners, fewer silos, and a shared standard for retail excellence.
It’s also insight-led – using digital signals to decide where we play, and connecting online demand to offline experiences that land culturally. As we build momentum for the brand in Greater China, my measure is simple: are we winning denim authority, elevating brand aspiration, and building sustainable DTC growth?
IR: Looking back, what has been the toughest decision of your career, and what did it teach you about risk?
AF: One of the hardest decisions I’ve made was to slow down near-term volume to protect brand equity, tightening distribution and raising the bar on execution, even when the market was pressuring for growth. It reinforced a lesson I still believe in: in fast-moving markets, the biggest risk is losing focus. When you’re clear on what the brand should represent, disciplined choices compound into stronger, more durable growth.
IR: What is your immediate priority for this year?
AF: Greater China is one of LS&Co’s most important long-term growth engines. This year, my priority is focused on evolving how we show up in the market: accelerate disciplined DTC growth while building brand aspiration by winning denim authority in our most critical cities and doors.
Operationally, we’re tightening execution: one Greater China team with clear ownership, faster decisions, and a higher bar in product, merchandising and retail standards. And we’re using consumer and digital insights to connect online demand to offline conversion – so our investments are more targeted and our growth is more sustainable.
We’re also scaling the growth drivers that matter most – especially women’s and head-to-toe styling – while elevating how Levi’s shows up at the top of culture. The Rose x Levi’s partnership and our “Behind Every Original” Taipei and Chengdu pop-ups are strong examples of insight-led, O2O storytelling that build community, drive store traffic and reinforce our denim DNA.
Premiumisation remains important, including elevating our most crafted expressions of denim through initiatives like Levi’s BlueTab.
IR: Levi’s is pushing to become a more DTC-led, lifestyle-driven brand. Where do you see the biggest unlock for that strategy in China?
AF: The biggest unlock in China is running a truly connected DTC model – using digital signals to drive sharper assortment and marketing decisions and then delivering store experiences that convert traffic and build loyalty. Our reset is about clearly executing against what Levi’s stands for, as well as executing that consistently across every consumer touchpoint.
Practically, that means focusing resources on our highest-impact cities and doors and using O2O to turn online demand into store traffic, conversion and repeat engagement. The “Behind Every Original” Taipei and Chengdu pop-ups with the Rose x Levi’s collaboration are good examples – community-led, culturally specific, and anchored in denim authority.
China is also a powerful platform for premium propositions and innovation – we can test, learn and scale quickly, and apply those learnings across the region and globally.
If we stay focused on denim authority, elevate the brand with culturally relevant storytelling, and deliver connected DTC experiences – especially as we accelerate women’s growth – Greater China can be one of the strongest engines for Levi’s next chapter.
Further reading: How Levi’s wove itself into music history – and what comes next
