West Elm lifts Williams-Sonoma again

West Elm helped Williams-Sonoma deliver another solid financial performance in the first quarter despite negative effects from the West Coast port dispute and sluggish consumer spending.

Total revenue for Williams-Sonoma Inc. in the first quarter ended May 3 grew 5.8% year over year, to $1.03 billion, versus $974 million in the first quarter of 2014. Same store sales from its flagship Williams-Sonoma brand grew 2.7%, Pottery Barn sales increased 2.4%, West Elm delivered a 15.3% increase in comps, Pottery Barn Kids grew 0.8%, and sales from PBteen increased 3% year over year.

"Our first quarter results were better than we expected, driven by West Elm and our new businesses, as well as strong operational and financial execution across all of our brands,” said Laura Alber, president and CEO. “Based on the results we see across our portfolio, we are confident in the fundamentals of our business and the year ahead. We believe that our growth strategies, consistent execution and operational discipline, put us on track to deliver another record year for our shareholders."

E-commerce net revenues increased 8.4% to $533 million during the last quarter, from $491 million in the same period last year. Williams-Sonoma said the e-commerce channel is representing a growing percentage of total sales, accounting for 52% of total company revenue, versus 50% of sales coming from the online channel in the year ago quarter.

Alber concluded: "We believe our strong brands and profitable multi-channel strategy create a sustainable competitive advantage. We are focused on executing our long-term growth initiatives and we believe we are well-positioned for consistent market share gains."

Williams-Sonoma operates more than 600 stores worldwide.