Williams-Sonoma (WSM) wants to keep promotions in the past.
The parent of Pottery Barn, West Elm, and the luxury kitchen retailer Williams-Sonoma is sticking to its years-old strategy of easing off promotional pricing, executives said on the company’s earnings call Wednesday. “We’re absolutely committed to the stance of running the business without promotional pricing,” said Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber.
“We made the decision, as you know, to stop this up-down pricing and this constant promotion,” Alber said on the call, a transcript of which was made availabe by AlphaSense. “Once you’re in that loop, you can’t stop it.”
The company said customers are responding well to “consistent pricing” and may even appreciate that there is no longer an incentive to spend weeks checking whether the price of an item drops. The decision stands out at a time when some other retailers, including Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT), are discounting items for customers who are seeking …