Mr. Grohman acknowledges that he is reviewing acquisition possibilities and that he has enlisted McKinsey & Company, a consulting concern, and Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb, an investment house, to help.

''We're not interested in becoming a conglomerate, but we are interested in broadening our diversification base,'' he said at the company's new red-brick, campus-like headquarters along Fisherman's Wharf.

He added that Levi Strauss was also considering buying back some of its common shares. Peter E. Haas, the company's 64-year-old chairman, and Robert D. Haas, the chairman's 40-year-old nephew and Levi's executive vice president, and their family, collectively own 45 percent of Levi.

Institutions own another 37 percent of the company's stock, although it lost its former glamor ranking over the last two years as earnings plunged. It closed today at 46 1/2, up 3/4, in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares traded as low as 19 3/8 in 1982. Complacency From Success

''People are asking the question -'Is Levi as special, as stable and as solid as we thought they were, and as they claim they are, or are they just another apparel company?' '' asked the younger Mr. Haas. ''Our success, frankly, caused us to get complacent.''

For instance, he said, the company's introduction of active wear, timed for the summer Olympics in 1980, was so poorly executed that President Carter's decision to cancel the participation of the United States was a good thing for the company. Because Levi was not ready to introduce the product, he said, the advertising budget would have been wasted.

Noting that Levi Strauss is spending $40 million in promotions tied to the 1984 Olympics, Mr. Haas added, ''I think we're in better shape now.''