First-quarter Internet sales at home-furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma rose 58.6% to $95.6 million from $60.3 million in Q1 of last year, the company said today. By contrast, total Q1 retail sales rose 15.3%, to $349.4 million from $303.1 million, as comparable store sales grew 6%.
Q1 web sales as a percentage of total retail sales grew to 27.4%, up from 19.9% a year ago, the company said. The shift toward web sales led to lower costs related to store occupancy and freight-to-store shipments, boosting gross margin as a percent of revenue by 20 basis points, to 38.3% from 38.1%, Williams-Sonoma added.
The company said Q1 direct-to-consumer sales, including catalogs as well as web, rose 24.2% to $246.6 million from $198.6 million a year ago. Direct-to-consumer sales were generated primarily by its Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm brands. It added that its Williams-Sonoma brand also saw positive growth in the direct market, but that its Chambers brand declined in sales as a result of being downsized to make room in the third quarter for the new Williams-Sonoma Home brand.
The company said it expects Q2 direct sales to be in a range of $257 million to $262 million, up 25-27% from a year ago.
Back...
