Williams-Sonoma 2Q Profit Climbs to $30.8 Million

August 19, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on August 20, 2010 Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) reported net profit of $30.8 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 1, compared to $399,000 profit during the same quarter last year.

Sales climbed 15.4 percent to $776 million for the quarter, compared to $672 million in the year-ago quarter. Same-store sales increased 13.6 percent from the same quarter last year.

Laura Alber, president and chief executive officer, said she is pleased with the results.

"Innovative merchandising at compelling price points€”combined with highly targeted marketing and a superior customer experience€”drove these better than expected results," Alber said. "While we are proud of these record results, we realize there is still uncertainty in the economic environment.  Our initiatives, however, have proven to be effective and we continue to see a significant opportunity ahead of us to attract new customers to our brands, gain market share and improve profitability, even in this environment."

Net sales for the first half of the year increased 16.3 percent to $1.49 billion compared to $1.28 billion for the first half of last year.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. operates six different brands€”Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma Home. The company operates 609 stores, seven direct mail catalogs and six e-commerce Web sites.

Williams-Sonoma has the entire release on its Web site.