Williams-Sonoma CEO explains pricing strategy after earnings beat

After Williams-Sonoma reported a successful quarter on Wednesday, CEO Laura Alber told CNBC’s Jim Cramer how the homeware and furniture company prices items in a tough consumer environment, saying it’s important to be upfront about cost.

“When we price the goods the first time, we want you to say, ‘wow, that’s a great price, and how gorgeous is that product?'” she said. “And that’s the focus we’ve had since the pandemic, is to continue to pull back on this up/down promotional pricing that so many of our competitors run.”

Williams-Sonoma beat earnings and raised its outlook, sending shares to a new all-time high to finish up 27.54% by close. The company runs its namesake brand along with furniture retailers West Elm and Pottery Barn.

Alber critiqued the short-term promotion and discount pricing strategy sometimes used by other retailers, saying this approach isn’t successful in the long term, as customers become “trained to wait for that promotion.” She suggested customers trust the “pricing integrity” of Williams-Sonoma when it initially prices items.

Williams-Sonoma is known as a high-end brand, but Alber claimed the company’s prices are attainable. She said the holiday season has already brought out shoppers, and they’re more eager to buy products than they were during the pandemic.

“There’s a lot of people selling things that are beautiful,” Alber said. “But our prices are approachable.”