Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Laura Alber: Yeah. It’s interesting, Kate. We try to glean every piece of information from sales and then they change. So I don’t think it’s fair to say right now, that there’s a specific price point that’s the magic price point. We’re seeing success across all prices. The customer wants a value. So we have some really expensive stuff, that’s really selling. And then we have some value price points that are really selling. And so there’s not a pattern there that I’d hang a strategy on for now. In all of our brands, we’ve worked on great value to the consumer and also really new fresh designs. And so you cannot underestimate how important it is. When we get it right on a design, it’s not that we take advantage of the price, it’s that our price is generally a lot cheaper than other people making the same product and our quality is better.

So we’re — that’s what we’re focused on is delivering value to the customer — and I — we are trying about this before the call, I can’t prove that it’s low prices, it’s mid prices or it’s high prices that are soft or strong. It’s the stuff they want. And it’s the new fresh product.

Kate McShane: Thank you. And I just wanted to ask a follow-up question with regards to tariffs that if there were to be [indiscernible] risk profile for your guidance, the election. But how are you thinking about managing through, a scenario where there could be more tariffs?

Jeff Howie: Good morning, Kate. Well, first, we’re in an election here. A lot’s get said on the campaign trail and who knows where this conversation really goes in the end. Second, we’ve transformed our sourcing base since the last time the subject was top of mind six years ago. Today, only 25% of our goods are sourced from China, which is about half of what it was back then. And here is the most important thing. We have some real key competitive advantages that serve us well into these situations. First, 90% of our products are proprietary designed and exclusively made for our brands. And then we operate our own in-house best-in-class global sourcing operation. So with 12 overseas offices, it’s our own boots on the ground, managing sourcing decisions, production and shipping, and we’re the 13th largest container importer into the United States.

So we have scale and relationships. Others do not. So punch line being, if the landscape changes, we have the ability to respond that others do not.

Kate McShane: Thank you.

Operator: I’ll now hand the call back to Laura Alber for any closing remarks.

Laura Alber: Well, thank you all for joining us. We really appreciate your support and look forward to seeing some of you in New York and talking to you throughout the year.

Operator: That will conclude today’s call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.