Home Retailer Williams-Sonoma Sees Growing Demand From B2B Customers

B2B customers’ demand for corporate gifting and custom merchandise services contributed to record earnings results for home retailer Williams-Sonoma, the company said Thursday (Nov. 17) during its quarterly earnings call.

The company’s B2B segment achieved a 17% year-over-year increase during the quarter and is one of Williams-Sonoma’s greatest opportunities moving ahead, Williams-Sonoma President and CEO Laura Alber said during the call.

“We continue to believe our B2B business presents a sizeable growth driver for us as it disrupts an underserved, estimated $80 billion total addressable market,” Alber said. “It’s building velocity with large and repeat projects from commercial and hospitality partners like Marriott and Hilton.”

Beyond commercial and hospitality, Williams-Sonoma is looking to expand its B2B business into new industry verticals like healthcare.

Starbucks has been a key B2B customer of the company for three years, and Williams-Sonoma assisted the coffee chain with the recent buildout of its three-story flagship store in the Empire State Building, providing both furniture from its West Elm brand and custom furniture solutions.

Overall, the parent company of the Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma brands achieved record third-quarter revenues and earnings. During the quarter ended Oct. 30, its comparable brand revenue growth was 8.1% year over year, Williams-Sonoma said in a Thursday press release.

“These results reflect the continuation of backlog order fulfillment, strong product margins and disciplined cost control,” Alber said during the call.

Looking ahead, Williams-Sonoma reiterated its fiscal year 2022 guidance of mid- to high-single-digit annual net revenue growth and operating margins. The company said it would not reiterate or update its guidance through fiscal 2024, though, due to macro uncertainty.

“Although the macro backdrop has become more uncertain, we believe our strong positioning, growth initiatives and culture of financial discipline will allow us to outperform in any environment,” Alber said in the release.

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