Williams-Sonoma
November 17, 2017 at 12:09 pm
Furniture and kitchenware giant Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSI) is acquiring augmented reality (AR) startup Outward in an all-cash deal for $112 million. The furniture brand, which operates stores including Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm and others, will be using the startup’s 3-D imaging tech to “enhance and extend its high-touch customer service platform,” the company says. Outward, founded…
October 6, 2016 at 12:02 pm
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…
January 21, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Check out Total Retail's interview with Sameer Hassan, vice president of e-commerce and marketing technology at Williams-Sonoma, from the National Retail Federation's Big Show in New York City this week. Sameer discusses how big data will affect the retailer's marketing strategy in 2016.
December 7, 2015 at 9:48 am
Chuck Williams, the founder of Williams-Sonoma, has died at age 100, the company said Saturday. Williams, whose business is famous for its cookware, died of natural causes at his home in San Francisco. His passion for cooking and entertaining friends led him into the entrepreneurial world in what would eventually become a global powerhouse celebrated…
June 5, 2015 at 3:14 pm
Williams-Sonoma is rolling out a fast, easy and secure way to pay online that brings a whole new meaning to instant gratification. The retailer is teaming up with Visa to launch a marketing campaign and four-part video series called “Time to Savor Summer.” The video series, launched in support of the availability of Visa Checkout…
March 23, 2015
Williams-Sonoma is looking to appeal to its increasingly digital-savvy customers with the launch of a free recipe tool for smartphones. The retailer, in collaboration with Weldon Owen Publishing, a division of Bonnier Corp., and Culinate Inc., has released the Williams-Sonoma Recipe of the Day app on Apple's App Store. The app delivers a seasonally appropriate recipe every day of the year, from a selection of Williams-Sonoma's starters, salads, sides, soups, main dishes and desserts.
September 18, 2014
Home furnishings and housewares retailer Williams-Sonoma is enjoying profitable growth in a competitive marketplace. What's its secret? Pat Connolly, chief strategy and business development officer for the San Francisco-based company, provided some insight into that question for the audience at NEMOA's directXchange Fall Conference in Groton, Conn. yesterday. Specifically, Connolly outlined six beliefs that Williams-Sonoma holds as integral to its success.
July 28, 2014
As part of its continued growth strategy, Williams-Sonoma made several organizational changes to its management team. Chief Marketing Officer Pat Connolly has been elevated to chief strategy and business development officer. Connolly will work closely with senior management to refine the company's long-term strategy, including the development of new businesses and the evaluation and execution of acquisitions and alliances that can provide significant growth. "Pat has devoted the past 35 years to building the company's multichannel strategy and has been a driving force in our e-commerce growth," said President and CEO Laura Alber.
July 21, 2014
Deliv CEO Daphne Carmeli calls the startup she founded two-and-a-half years ago a disrupter for the retail world, and as CEO she's entitled to boast. But Carmeli isn't that far off in her description of a service that, with a few tweaks and twists, can be likened to a far more famous disrupter — rideshare services Uber and Lyft. Deliv is a crowdsourced delivery service used by retailers like Williams-Sonoma and a growing number of malls owned by such companies as General Growth Properties and Simon Property Group.
May 14, 2014
In an effort to tap into the $532 billion global marketplace for housewares and home furnishings, Williams-Sonoma, the San Francisco-based omnichnannel retailer, took its business beyond its domestic borders. In a session yesterday at NetSuite's SuiteWorld conference in San Jose, Calif., Rob Bogan, vice president of international systems for Williams-Sonoma, discussed the brand's experiences going global.
