Williams-Sonoma Expands E-Commerce Business in Face of Coronavirus

In the event of temporary closure of all stores in the US and Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM focuses heavily on the e-commerce business. The company announced it would extend store closures for another two weeks.

This leading homewares retailer offering high-quality, sustainable products is making ongoing efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. As of March 18, it closed all its stores nationwide.

Given the unpredictable impact of the coronavirus on consumer behavior and economic activity generally, the company has temporarily suspended its full-year guidance. It has also suspended all capital expenditures that are not critical to the company’s operations and is significantly reducing inventory levels this year. In particular, the company expects a soft economic climate to prevail in the near term as overall consumer demand is likely to decline in the future.

E-commerce a boon for Williams-Sonoma despite Covid-19 chaos

Williams-Sonoma has a history of growing market share with strong e-commerce sites, direct sales catalogs and retail stores, as well as shipping fees received for delivering goods. The company is expected to generate strong revenues from its e-commerce channel amid the shutdowns to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Williams-Sonoma is a highly customer-centric company that focuses on improving the customer experience through technological innovation and operational improvement. Additionally, continuous technological and product innovation helps drive customer engagement. Her innovative efforts helped the company grow its e-commerce revenue to an all-time high of over 56% of total revenue in fiscal 2019.

Stock price performance

The company’s shares are down 42.1% year-to-date compared to RH RH, At Home Group Inc. HOME and The Lovesac Company’s LOVE 53%, 63.3% and 63.7%. The Retail – home furnishings industry decreased by 44.9% in the mentioned period.

Nevertheless, solid e-commerce development, strong Western ELM and emerging enterprises, focus on innovation, combined with strong marketing and digitalization techniques will drive growth.

Zacks Rank

Williams-Sonoma is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

You can see You can find the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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