Williams-Sonoma Refines Holiday Message

San Francisco —This holiday season, Pottery Barn brands will send out less of a promotional message, by focusing on fresher regular-priced goods, changing floor visuals and offering better merchandise assortments, stated Williams-Sonoma, Inc. executives during the company's third-quarter earnings call.

This year, Williams-Sonoma said it has significantly improved Pottery Barn's trim-a-tree and holiday assortments, added a floor set between Halloween and Thanksgiving, and held off on holiday merchandise until November to be more in line with customers' buying patterns.

Another focus has been gift cards, which are being marketed inside supermarket chains such as Safeway this season, offering earlier redemption opportunities. This week, the company kicks off a Thanksgiving ad campaign in Gannett, Knight Ridder and Tribune papers centered around cooking/entertaining with Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn.

According to executives, third-quarter results at Pottery Barn brands have been driven by growth in textiles, furniture and decorative accessories. The company stated that textiles and furniture continue to exceed expectations, particularly at Pottery Barn Kids.

Meanwhile, Williams-Sonoma Home's first brick-and-mortar location, in Los Angeles' Design District, which opened 45 days ago, has been recording a strong performance, per company executives. The remaining two Williams-Sonoma Home locations in shopping malls in Indianapolis and Cincinnati have demonstrated good results for smaller regions, they said.