Williams-Sonoma beats Street with Q3 profits, sales

San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. surpassed Wall Street expectations with its profit and sales results for the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Earnings per share increased 17% to $0.68 from $0.58 in the same quarter the previous fiscal year.



Retail net revenues increased 3% to $556 million from $540 million, primarily driven by West Elm and Pottery Barn, partially offset by a decrease in Williams-Sonoma due to eight fewer stores



Williams-Sonoma also passed an omnichannel milestone in the quarter. E-commerce (formerly direct-to-customer) net revenues increased 15% to $587 million from $512 million, with increases in all brands, primarily driven by Pottery Barn and West Elm. E-commerce net revenues generated the majority (51%) of total company net revenues, compared to 49% a year earlier.

“Solid performance across our brands allowed us to deliver these results,” said Laura Alber, president and CEO of Williams-Sonoma. “These achievements reflect our product leadership, lifestyle merchandising, iconic brands and strong execution. We also believe that this third quarter further demonstrates that our multi-channel model, with more than 51% of revenues now coming from the e-commerce channel, represents a distinct competitive advantage. We continue to focus on serving our customers and investing for sustainable long-term growth.”



Net revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 are expected to be in the range of $1.525 billion to $1.575 billion.