Williams-Sonoma Case

1. I believe Williams-Sonoma is heading into the right direction with its present strategies, by bringing e-commerce to its brand. This will help bring its brand to more individuals that might otherwise not have gone into a store or know what it sells. The company is not only bringing its store online within the country but they are also going global "The internet gives Williams-Sonoma a way to target international consumers without building as many brick-and-mortar stores – part of a plan for direct sales to reach as much as 50 percent of revenue in the next five years" (Flinn, 2011). This strategy will help bring its brand to more consumers, though the problem with the store is that it offers mostly high end merchandise. Presently more consumers are more conscious with how they spend money and would rather go to an Ashley's or Ikea to furnish their homes. They also have to compete with the online retailer Amazon which often not only sells products similar but at a reduced cost. I believe they should extend their brand and have a store that offers home furnishings that are on par with what other discount store offer. This way not only will they be able to compete with the likes of Pier 1 Imports, Crate & Barrel, etc., but will also be able to compete with the Ikea's as well.

2. As I stated previously I would extend the brand into a more cost effective store where it would compete with other retailers that are similar. I understand that they have the West Elm brand though they need to expand upon this and market it more. In keeping with this trend, as CEO, I would develop more outlet store similar to the Nordstrom Racks and Neiman Marcus Last Call. These stores take items that are either from last season or very little stock of particular items and send them to these outlet type stores. By Williams-Sonoma doing this not only would they be able to sell items that might not have previously sold but help get the brand recognition to more individuals. I would also partially get rid of the catalogs. Since the new direction of Williams-Sonoma is e-commerce I would send out single page almost post card size advertisements that market the website and offer a small discount for using