Williams-Sonoma 1Q Sales Up, Income Down
A 12% increase in first-quarter sales was enough to prevent multititle cataloger/retailer Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WMS) from staving off a drop in income. For the 13 weeks ended May 4, the parent company of Pottery Barn and its spin-offs netted $13.4 million on revenue of $536.8 million. For the first quarter of fiscal 2002, the San Francisco-based company posted net income of $15.4 million on revenue of $478.4 million.
Catalog and Internet sales rose 11%, to $198.6 million from $178.3 million for the first quarter of last year. The Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids titles accounted for most of the growth, aided by the year-old West Elm title and the Pottery Barn Teen catalog, which launched this spring. The Internet accounted for $60.2 million in sales, up 58% from last year.
Sharper Image 1Q Earnings Jump 358% San Francisco-based Sharper Image (Nasdaq: SHRP) continues its hot streak. First-quarter revenue for the cataloger/retailer of high-tech gifts increased 27%, to $119.8 million for the three months ended April 30. Catalog sales increased 16%, to $34.3 million from the last year’s $29.6 million. Total store sales increased 32%, to $65.8 million; comparable store sales increased 19%. Internet sales increased 42%, to $16.9 million from last year’s $11.9 million. Most impressive, first-quarter net earnings increased 358%, to $682,000 compared with $149,000 last year.