SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 12 - Levi Strauss & Co (LEVST.UL) on Tuesday reported lower net profit in its third quarter due to retail investment and advertising, but revenue rose 7 percent on the strength of the Levi's brand in North America.

Levi's Curve 2010 Ad Campaign

The global jeans maker has been advertising its recently launched "Curve ID" line of women's jeans around the world as well as a new line of jeans, Denizen, in Asia.

"We've clearly been putting a lot of advertising into that (Curve ID) and that will continue into next year ... as we phase it into the wholesale channel," Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen told Reuters.

The company, whose wholesale customers include Macy's (M.N), JC Penney (JCP.N) and Kohl's (KSS.N), has also been spending on more outlet stores in the United States and Levi's stores abroad.

The jeans maker posted net profit of $28 million, down from year-ago profit of $41 million.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $1.11 billion from $1.04 billion a year earlier, the privately held company said.

"Without job growth we haven't seen a real strong movement on the consumer front, but we're certainly seeing strength in our core brand: Levi's," said Jorgensen.

The company in recent years has been upgrading its core Levi's brand with better fits and finishes.

In the Americas region, in which the United States is the biggest market, revenue rose 9 percent, driven by Levi's wholesale sales. That improvement was offset by lower Dockers sales in the United States, the company said.

Revenue fell 3 percent in Europe, and rose 11 percent in the Asia Pacific region. On a currency-neutral basis, that corresponded to a rise of 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Operating income fell 12 percent in the quarter, as selling, general and administrative costs rose to $457 million from $396 million.

Levi Strauss ended the quarter with 456 company-operated stores around the world, with a total store count, including franchise stores, of more than 2,100, Jorgensen said.

Levi Strauss reports results due to its privately held debt.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)