Williams-Sonoma's Competitors Case Study

Question:

Describe the competitive strategies used by each of Williams-Sonoma's competitors. Which of these strategies are the most effective?  Support your answer.

Answer:

        The specialty retail business is highly competitive including internal and external challenges.  Williams Sonoma also faces significant competition, which varies between its brands since each targets a slightly different demographic. These competitors are at national, regional and local level businesses.

There are many direct or indirect competitors are appearing for Williams-Sonoma. Willams-Sonoma has eight major retails brand stores, I am not going specific for each brand but overall for Williams-Sonoma as a group the major contenders are Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Pier 1 Imports, Bed bath and beyond, Ikea and the Bombay Company. According to IBIS in 2007, the top four home-furnishings retailers only accounted for 12.5% of the entire market in the United States, with Bed Bath and Beyond holding 5%, Williams-Sonoma holding 3%, Linens-and-Things holding 2.6%, and Pier 1 Imports holding 1.8% of market share.

Bed Bath & Beyond offers less expensive products than Williams-Sonoma and generally caters to a younger demographic. Its primary competitors are Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Sears, Lowe’s Companies, and JC Penny. Concentration within the home-furnishings industry is very low. WSM was hands down the top performer in the “store experience” cluster of a survey measuring customer satisfaction with retail stores done by IBM. On average, 53 percent of Williams-Sonoma’s consumers expressed high satisfaction with their store experiences. Notably, 80 percent of customers were highly satisfied with the store’s neatness and nearly half gave top marks for the “fun and entertaining shopping experience” it provides. Capitalizing on its store-experience strengths, Williams-Sonoma develops customers by providing interesting, relevant store events.  Crate & Barrel adopted marketing strategy by sending catalogs and web site directly to the consumers. Restoration Hardware  has been growing fast which is strong competitor for Pottery Barn,  Restoration hardware added more classic fashioned furniture in their catalog which was very much appreciated by consumers.  Pier1 Imports operates with three brand names as Pier 1 Imports, The Pier and Cargo, those offers a good collection of interior decoration and designed furniture, Pier1 Imports has more than 1000 stores in United States alone and continue expending in Europe and Canada as well.  The Bombay Company also growing retail chain operating in United States with 416 stores, classic designed furniture, home decor item,  accessories are main USP for Bombay company sale.