WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) announced today that it will bring its family of home furnishings brands to Mexico through a franchise agreement with Distribuidora Liverpool, S.A. de C.V., the country’s leading department store chain. The multi-year agreement includes both store and e-commerce rights in Mexico for the following brands in the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio: Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen and West Elm. The first stores are expected to open in 2015.
“We are pleased to announce another strategic global expansion opportunity with our new partner, Distribuidora Liverpool,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “Distribuidora Liverpool’s market expertise and extensive supply chain will allow us to deliver the same high quality of service that we provide in the United States and around the world. We look forward to opening the doors of our first stores in Mexico.”
“We’re excited to help bring the brands, products and services of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. to Mexico,” said Graciano Guichard, Commercial Affairs Director of Distribuidora Liverpool, S.A. de C.V. “This partnership represents an important global step for both of our companies.”
ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a specialty retailer of high-quality products for the home. These products, representing eight distinct merchandise strategies – Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, West Elm, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham – are marketed through e-commerce websites, direct mail catalogs and 589 stores. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. currently operates in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offers international shipping to customers worldwide, and has unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East and the Philippines.
ABOUT DISTRIBUIDORA LIVERPOOL, S.A. De C.V.
Distribuidora Liverpool is a Mexican retail company which sells a wide variety of products such as clothing and accessories for men, women and children, articles for home, furniture, cosmetics and other consumer products, through the biggest chain of department stores in Mexico. Liverpool has a significant presence in the Mexican Capital city and 30 states of the Mexican Republic. Liverpool sells products to customers through a total of 100 department stores, 70 under the name “Liverpool”, 24 under the name “Fábricas de Francia” and six more under the name “Liverpool Duty Free” as well as through 22 specialized boutiques for clothing and cosmetics.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements related to the success of our franchise operations in Mexico and our global expansion strategy. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include the risk that the anticipated franchise stores or ecommerce in Mexico do not open on schedule or are not successful, that the overall franchise operations are not successful, and that we are not able to continue to execute our global expansion strategy as planned. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2014 and all subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
