Does Williams-Sonoma’s Q3 Spell Brick-And-Mortar Trouble?

One analysis from Seeking Alpha posits that the retailer, which reported earnings earlier last month, may be showing some signs of caution in the year-to-date bottom line, which softened by 5 percent. The Pottery Barn and PBteen segments showed some mid-single-digit and double-digit declines in sales, the latter by almost 11 percent. The eCommerce side of the business, at 52 percent, still has the counterbalancing force from the brick-and-mortar locations. The retail segments are positive, but just barely at 1 percent.

But it is in the operating margin declines that the cost of keeping stores open and operating shows, primarily on SG&A, offsetting positive impacts of revamped supply chain relationships (which help gross margin).