Williams-Sonoma Subject of Class-Action Lawsuit

A class-action lawsuit worth more than $5 million has been filed against Williams-Sonoma, accusing the retailer and its subsidiaries, Pottery Barn and West Elm, of misleading customers. The lawsuit states that Williams-Sonoma had advertised sheets as “Signature 600- Thread-Count Sateen Bedding” made in Italy of Egyptian cotton. When the sheets were analyzed by experts, they were found to have only 291 thread count.

Total Retail's Take: Williams-Sonoma is the latest retailer to get caught up in a dispute over the quality of its sheets, joining Wal-Mart and Target. The lawsuit boils down to the fact that customers feel they're getting cheated. They're paying for a higher-end luxury sheet, but in reality it's not. There's little, if anything, worse than losing the trust of your customers. For Williams-Sonoma, that's something to lose sleep over.