Shares of Williams-Sonoma jumped to new highs Thursday after the home goods retailer posted better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
The company’s e-commerce business played a key role in sales growth to offset the loss of business in physical stores. But chief executive Laura Alber predicts a sharp recovery in brick-and-mortar sales as the U.S. economy emerges from the pandemic.
“Store traffic is back,” he told CNBC’s “Mad Money”. “I think people don’t realize how positive we are at retail.”
Williams-Sonoma, known for selling kitchen products, generated $ 2.3 billion in revenue in its most recent quarter, which ended Jan. 31. It was the third consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth, following a decline in sales earlier last year. year in which the closures of Covid-19 became effective.
The San Francisco-based retailer also reported full-year results for fiscal year 2021. Despite pandemic-era business disruptions, the company had its best year of growth in nearly two decades.
Online sales grew 45% during the fiscal year, compared to a 24% drop in face-to-face sales. Still, Alber said the company will not give up its brick-and-mortar strategy.
“We talk about e-commerce, and that will be our growth, but this retail recovery is also an important part of the story,” he said.
Shares of Williams-Sonoma were up 18.46% on Thursday, closing at $ 161.57.