Williams-Sonoma chief executive Laura Alber expects the upmarket homeware retailer’s Australian online and catalogue sales to rise after the opening of another four bricks-and-mortar stores next month.
Rather than cannibalising online and catalogue sales, Alber believes the new stores in Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre will drive Williams-Sonoma’s direct-to-consumer sales by building consumer trust in its brands and the quality of its products.
"What I can’t wait to understand is as we drop the stores in Melbourne, will direct to customer sales go up or down, will the stores cannibalise or not?" Alber told The Australian Financial Review during a whistle-stop tour of Williams-Sonoma’s Australian operations this week.
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald Online )