A year after launching the West Elm catalog, multititle cataloger/retailer Williams-Sonoma is debuting PBteen. The latest catalog in the Pottery Barn family of titles, Pbteen is scheduled to mail the week of April 21.
PBteen will sell furniture, rugs, lighting, bedding, and decor accessories. “PBteen products are designed to reflect teen personalities, styles, and interests and are intended to speak to teenagers with the voice of a teen magazine,” according to a company statement.
Williams-Sonoma announced the new catalog as it reported its impressive fourth-quarter and fiscal 2002 earnings and sales. For the three months ended Feb. 2, the parent company of Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Hold Everything, and Chambers had earnings of $79.8 million, up 15% from $69.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001. Net revenue for the quarter, including shipping fees, increased 10%, to $859.0 million from $778.0 million. Catalog and Internet sales increased 9%, to $255.2 million from $233.5 million. Fourth-quarter sales were aided by the April 2002 launch of West Elm. Retail sales increased 10%, to $557.1 million, primarily due to 63 new stores in the fourth quarter. Comparable store sales grew 2%.
For the year, net earnings increased 66%, to $124.4 million from $75.1 million for fiscal 2001. Net revenue, including shipping fees, increased 13%, to $2.4 billion from $2.1 billion the previous year. Net direct-to-customer sales increased 9%, to $798.2 million from $735.8 million. Web sales were $200.4 million, a 51% increase.
The Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and Williams-Sonoma brands accounted for most of the sales growth, along with incremental sales from the West Elm catalog. These increases were partially offset by a planned sales reduction in the Hold Everything brand.