Why You Shouldn’t Expect Promotional Prices at Williams-Sonoma | Global News Avenue

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) would like to keep past promotions.

The parent company of Pottery Barn, West Elm and luxury kitchen retailer Williams-Sonoma is sticking to its years-long strategy of relaxing promotional prices, executives said on an earnings call Wednesday. “We are absolutely committed to operating our business without promotional pricing,” Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber said.

“As you know, we have decided to discontinue this up and down pricing and ongoing promotions,” Alber said on the conference call, a transcript of which was provided by AlphaSense. “Once you’re stuck in this cycle, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

The company says customers respond well to “consistent pricing” and may even realize there’s no incentive to spend weeks checking to see if an item’s price has dropped. The decision comes as a number of other retailers, including Walmart (WMT) and target (TGT), items on sale Customers looking for sales.

Williams-Sonoma is catering to those with a bigger budget. For example, the cheapest king-size beds at Pottery Barn (about $750) and West Elm ($500) cost hundreds of dollars more than the $72 on Walmart.com or the $76 deal offered online at Target Wednesday.

Williams-Sonoma customers may have weathered the economy better than others, Alber said. Shoppers are “probably a little better off than everyone thinks, especially our consumers,” Alber said.

Results for the Williams-Sonoma portfolio were mixed last quarter. Pottery Barn revenue fell 7.5% year over year; West Elm fell 3.5%; Williams Sonoma shares were almost flat, while Pottery Barn Kids and Teen rose 3.8%.

The company’s stock price soared Today, the company reported adjusted earnings of $1.96 per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.77.