Founder of Williams-Sonoma dies

The man who built a retail empire by inspiring a generation of shoppers to stock their kitchens with garlic presses and soufflé pans has died.



Charles E. “Chuck” Williams, founder and director emeritus of Williams-Sonoma Inc., died of natural causes over the weekend, the company announced. He was 100 years old.



“Chuck taught us that when we open our doors to a customer, we welcome a friend into our home,” said Laura Alber, president and CEO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “He had impeccable taste, unique insight for selecting the right products at the right time, and the highest standard of customer service. Most of all, Chuck was our mentor and our friend. We will miss him dearly.”



Born Oct. 2, 1915, in northern Florida, Williams’ earliest memories were of hand-mixing egg whites for divinity fudge and lemon meringue pies with his grandmother, who once owned her own restaurant. A two-week trip to Paris in 1953 changed his life, and ultimately the cooking habits of the nation.



"I couldn't get over seeing so many great things for cooking, the heavy pots and pans, white porcelain ovenware, country earthenware, great tools and professional knives," Williams told The Washington Post in 2005.



The trip inspired him to open the first Williams-Sonoma store in the fall of 1956. Located off of Sonoma’s town square, Williams refurbished the location by hand. He covered the floor with black and white checkerboard tiles, painted the walls a bright yellow that he’d seen in pictures, and built custom shelving to display individual pots and pans. He crafted a simple logo with the words “Williams” and “Sonoma” in block letters over a woodcut illustration of a pineapple – a symbol of hospitality.



Williams’ first store was an enormous success. In 1958, he relocated to a 3,000-square foot store on Sutter Street in San Francisco, adjacent to the city’s bustling Union Square shopping district.



The first Williams-Sonoma catalog was published in 1958. It was black and white, fit into a business-sized envelope and had an initial printing of 10,000. By 1972, Williams’ store on Sutter Street had expanded to twice its original size and the catalog was flourishing. With the help of business partners, Williams-Sonoma became Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and expanded to Beverly Hills and then Palo Alto, California. In 1978, Williams sold the company to Howard Lester, who became the chairman and CEO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and one of Williams’ closest friends. In 1983, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. became a public company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange.



Williams-Sonoma, Inc. currently operates more than 600 stores under various banners in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.