Williams-Sonoma, Inc. revenues grew 5.1% in second quarter

Home Accents Today Staff -- Home Accents Today, 8/23/2011 9:25:46 AM

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Williams-Sonoma, Inc. today announced that net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 (ended July 31) increased 5.1% to $815 million versus $776 million for the same period last year.
President and CEO Laura Alber said the second quarter was "another strong quarter for the company as comparable brand revenues increased 6% and non-GAAP earnings per share increased 19% to a second quarter record of $0.37.

"During the quarter, we continued to drive increased traffic and conversion in e-commerce, expand the reach of West Elm and extend our international presence. In e-commerce, net revenues increased 18%. In West Elm, comparable brand revenues increased 29%. And in international, we completed the launch of our international shipping websites across all of our brands. While all of these initiatives continue to be in their early stages of development, we believe each of them represents a long-term growth opportunity that we will continue to invest in throughout the year."

Alber continued, "As we look forward to Q3, we believe that our innovative merchandising strategies, multichannel marketing reach, strong value proposition, and superior customer service will allow us to continue to deliver leading results in the home furnishings category. While there is clearly more uncertainty in the economy now than in Q2, we are encouraged by the early consumer response to our core and seasonal merchandise assortments."

Alber said the company is reiterating its third quarter non-GAAP EPS guidance in the range of $0.36 to $0.39 per share and increasing its full year guidance for the $0.01 outperformance it delivered in Q2. "This brings our fiscal year 2011 revenue growth to a range of 5% to 6% and our non-GAAP diluted EPS to a range of $2.17 to $2.22 versus $1.95 last year."

Direct-to-customer net revenues in Q2 11 increased 13% to $368 million versus $326 million in Q2 10,
driven by increases across all brands. E-commerce net revenues increased 18.4% to $317 million in Q2 11 versus $267 million in Q2 10.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. products are marketed through 586 stores, six direct mail catalogs and six e-commerce websites and include Williams-Sonoma (cookware and wedding registry), Pottery Barn (furniture and bridal registry), Pottery Barn Kids (kid's furniture and baby registry), PBteen (girls' bedding and boys' bedding), West Elm (modern furniture and room decor) and Williams-Sonoma Home (luxury furniture and cashmere throws).