Williams-Sonoma reports earnings growth

Williams-Sonoma announced that net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2010 increased 9.7% to $1.2 billion from $1.09 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, including Internet net revenue growth of 27.2% and a comparable-store sales increase of 5.2%.

Williams-Sonoma reported that net revenues for the 2010 fiscal year increased 12.9% to $3.5 billion from $3.1 billion in 2009, including Internet net revenue growth of 26.9% and a comparable-store sales increase of 9.8%.

Laura Alber, president and CEO, said: “Fiscal 2010 was a record earnings year for Williams-Sonoma. Each of our brands is stronger today than a year ago, and we made substantial progress on our longer-term growth and profitability initiatives. We are particularly pleased with the progress we made in merchandising, marketing, customer acquisition and customer service, as it is these competitive advantages that allowed us to attract new customers to our brands and gain profitable market share all year, including Internet revenue growth of 27%.”

Going forward, Alber said she expects growth in the company's e-commerce business.

"In fiscal 2011, we expect e-commerce to once again be our most profitable and fastest growing channel. As such, our direct-to-customer segment is expected to reach 43% of total company revenues in fiscal 2011 versus 41% in fiscal 2010."