Williams Sonoma Inc

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Monday that fiscal fourth-quarter profit will miss analysts' estimates because of higher Internet and inventory costs, sending shares of the housewares retailer down 37%. The San Francisco-based operator of the Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Hold Everything chains tumbled $11.38 to close at $19.50 on the New York Stock Exchange, its lowest level since October 1998. The stock decline wiped out about $674 million in market value.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit tumbled 90% as the retailer of kitchenware, home decor and apparel closed stores and laid off workers. The San Francisco-based company, whose chains include Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm, earned $12.2 million, or 12 cents a share, for the three months ended Feb. 1. That was down from $124.6 million, or $1.15, in the same quarter a year earlier.

* San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $3.8 million, or 7 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $215.3 million, compared with net income of $2.4 million, or 5 cents, on revenue of $182.4 million a year ago.

In a dramatic cost-cutting move, home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Wednesday that it would cut 18% of its workforce, reduce its inventory and close a call center and distribution facility. The San Francisco-based company, which is also parent of the Pottery Barn chain, said the series of actions would reduce costs by about $75 million in fiscal 2009. The announcement came on yet another day of bad news for the retail industry. Women's retailer Charlotte Russe Holding Inc.

Williams-Sonoma Inc., the owner of home furnishings retail chains including Pottery Barn, eliminated a lease accounting expense, boosting its fourth-quarter net income to 95 cents a share. The company, which reported a 9-cents-a-share expense March 22 and reversed it on advice from the Securities and Exchange Commission and auditors, increased its earnings forecast for this year by 1 cent a share because of the accounting change.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Chairman W. Howard Lester and Chief Executive Edward A. Mueller were each getting a $731,300 bonus for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 29. The bonuses matched those that Lester and Mueller received for each of the two preceding years, according to the San Francisco-based home product retailer's last two annual proxy statements.

Williams-Sonoma Inc., a retailer of upscale kitchen and home furnishings, will introduce a new brand, Williams- Sonoma Home, by mailing catalogs in September or October. The brand, to feature premium furniture and other items, eventually may include stores if the catalog is successful, Williams-Sonoma Executive Vice President Patrick Connolly said. Shares of the San Francisco-based retailer fell 24 cents to $32.50 on the NYSE. From Bloomberg News

Stride Rite Corp. Chief Executive and Chairman James Eskridge resigned from the maker of Keds and other shoes due to strategic disagreements with the board. A former executive of Mattel Inc., Eskridge joined Stride Rite in November. A Stride Rite official declined to elaborate on the nature of the disagreements. * Williams-Sonoma Inc. said it tapped John Tate, chief financial officer at Dole Food Co., as chief financial officer.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. shares rose 17% after a report that the cookware and pottery retailer rejected a takeover offer earlier this month. Starbucks Corp., North America's largest coffee retailer, was named a likely suitor in the report by the San Francisco Chronicle, which cited sources close to the retailer. San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma declined to comment. A spokeswoman said only that the retailer is not for sale. A Starbucks spokesman also declined to comment.

Williams-Sonoma Inc., owner of the Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma stores, said fiscal second-quarter profit climbed 26% after the company opened more locations and kept the chains better stocked with merchandise. Net income rose to $17.8 million, or 15 cents a share, from $14.1 million, or 12 cents, a year earlier, the San Francisco-based company said. Sales in the three months ended Aug. 3 increased 17% to $580.4 million.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said fiscal second-quarter earnings dropped 29% and reduced its annual forecast. Full-year profit and sales will decline more than it thought as it cuts prices to woo cash-strapped shoppers, the retailer said, sending its shares down 7.8%. Net income in the quarter that ended Aug. 3 fell 29% to $18.4 million, or 17 cents a share, from $26 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier, San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma said. Revenue dropped 4.6% to $819.6 million, trailing analysts' estimates.

Upscale home-goods retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. posted a higher quarterly profit, but its shares fell 4% after it forecast disappointing earnings for the current fiscal year on tough economic conditions. The owner of the Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm chains forecast earnings per share of $1.42 to $1.56 for the fiscal year that began Feb. 4. Analysts, on average, were expecting $1.62, according to Reuters Estimates. For the current quarter, Williams-Sonoma said it expected results of break-even to earnings of 3 cents a share.

Home goods retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported a decline in its holiday same-store sales and gave a weak outlook for the current quarter and upcoming fiscal year, sending its shares down as much as 13%. The owner of the Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm chains said sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.4% in the nine weeks ended Dec. 30 compared with the previous year, hurt by weak demand for home furnishings. Revenue for the period rose to $1.02 billion from $977.

Williams-Sonoma Inc., the biggest U.S. gourmet-cookware chain, said third-quarter profit dropped and fourth-quarter earnings would be at the low end of an earlier forecast as the housing slump discouraged shoppers. Its shares fell the most in a year. Fewer customers are visiting stores this month than the retailer anticipated amid a weakening economy, Chief Executive Howard Lester said. Net income decreased 7.1% to $27.1 million, or 25 cents a share, meeting analysts' estimates.

Williams-Sonoma Inc., the biggest U.S. gourmet-cookware chain, reported profit Wednesday that exceeded analysts' estimates and increased its full-year earnings forecast. The stock price rose the most in more than five years. The retailer's Pottery Barn unit, whose 190 stores account for half of revenue, boosted sales at locations open at least a year for the first time in five quarters.

Home goods retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported a decline in its holiday same-store sales and gave a weak outlook for the current quarter and upcoming fiscal year, sending its shares down as much as 13%. The owner of the Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm chains said sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.4% in the nine weeks ended Dec. 30 compared with the previous year, hurt by weak demand for home furnishings. Revenue for the period rose to $1.02 billion from $977.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said fiscal second-quarter earnings dropped 29% and reduced its annual forecast. Full-year profit and sales will decline more than it thought as it cuts prices to woo cash-strapped shoppers, the retailer said, sending its shares down 7.8%. Net income in the quarter that ended Aug. 3 fell 29% to $18.4 million, or 17 cents a share, from $26 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier, San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma said. Revenue dropped 4.6% to $819.6 million, trailing analysts' estimates.