Williams-Sonoma has set its sights on the U.K.: The kitchen/home goods retailer will open stores in London sometime next year, according to published reports.
Williams-Sonoma is reportedly seeking retail spaces in London ranging in size from 5,000 sq. ft. to 8,000-sq. ft. Last month the company launched international online ordering and shipping in 75 countries. A spokesperson for Williams-Sonoma did not return calls for comment.
Why London? Chris Kampe, managing director for investment bank Tully & Holland, says that, after Canada, “expansion into the U.K. is the next logical next place to open stores for U.S. retailers.”
Several of Williams-Sonoma’s multichannel contemporaries (Gap, Abercrombie, Coach, GameStop) operate stores internationally, Kampe says. “The U.K. is the most international retail market in the world and London, like New York and San Francisco, is an ideal location for a flagship store to represent and build the brand.”
Neil Stern, a retail analyst and senior partner for retail consultancy McMillan Doolittle, says more U.S. companies are expanding abroad because the market here “has become a difficult place to expand and retail brands are able to grow their awareness through international e-commerce very effectively.”
As for the Williams-Sonoma catalog, Stern says it’s unclear what role it will play because “it has been morphing away from a pure direct tool to a combination marketing/direct vehicle.” As such, Sonoma “might focus more on ecommerce and stores before committing to a catalog launch,” he says.