Customers Return for Williams-Sonoma

As consumers kept a tight lid on spending, Williams-Sonoma felt the pressure. Profit and sales sank like a souffle gone bad. In the fiscal year ended January 2009, sales fell 15 percent. Profit dropped to the lowest point in years, to 35 cents a share vs. $1.76 the year before. But the pots and pans are banging again. Shoppers seem to be back in stores, and not just looking.