Content about Williams-Sonoma

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income rose a better-than-expected 9%, helped by strong online sales, gains at its West Elm brand and the benefit of an extra week in the period.

The company also said it is increasing its quarterly cash dividend by 41% to 31 cents per share, and announced plans to buy back up to $750 million of its shares over the next three years.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma reported that its revenue increased 4.8% to $1.01 billion for the nine-week period ended Dec.30.The company also backed its fourth-quarter and full-year forecast.

Williams-Sonoma will discuss its performance in more detail in March when it releases its fourth quarter results.

Company president and CEO Laura Alber said the chain's performance reflected the strength of its brands even amid a time of consumer uncertainty and intense promotional activity across the retail industry.

Minneapolis -- In his Tuesday address to investors and stockholders in New York City, newly minted Best Buy Co. CEO Hubert Joly acknowledged that sales and profits are on a decline, and presented a plan to shore up finances and operations by cutting expenses, rethinking footprints and improving both offline and online customer satisfaction.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma, announced that it will open store in Indianapolis on Nov.15.

Located in The Fashion Mall at Keystone, it will be the first West Elm in Indiana. Through a partnership with Etsy, the store will feature a locally made collection of decorative accessories from artists in the Indianapolis area.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma said Thursday it has launched a new direct-to-consumer gifts and accessories brand called Mark and Graham. The brand will debut with its own direct mail catalog and website.

San Francisco — Williams-Sonoma said Friday that it will open its first store in Quebec — and its eighth in Canada — which will showcase a new design for the brand.

Opening on Saturday at Carrefour Laval in Laval, Quebec, the new store incorporates added interactive features, a new layout and several terminals where customers can complete purchases throughout the store.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma, announced that it will open a store in South Coast Plaza on Nov. 2.

The store will feature a three-sided living wall and will be the first West Elm to open with the company’s newly announced West Elm Market shop-in-shop. Through a partnership with Etsy, it will also feature a collection of decorative accessories and art made by artists from the Orange County area.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma announced that its West Elm division will launch a neighborhood market format, called West Elm Market, on Oct. 25, in Brooklyn N.Y. The Brooklyn store will be followed by the opening of eight Market in-store shops in West Elm stores across the country.

San Francisco -- Pbteen, a division of Williams-Sonoma, plans to open five pop-up stores in the Durham, Cincinnati, Edina, Houston and Miami areas this October and November.

The stores will showcase PBteen’s new holiday gift assortment, including gadgets for guys and girls, fur-inspired bedding and lounge seating, jewelry and beauty storage and accessories.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma, announced that it will open a store at 180 University Avenue in Palo Alto, Calif., on Oct. 18.

The new Palo Alto store will include a collection of decorative accessories and art made by Etsy artists from the South Bay. It will be only the second West Elm store selling goods made by Etsy artists in the U.S.

New York - Amazon.com, Trader Joe’s and Costco Wholesale Corp. came out on top with consumers in a survey by global strategy firm OC&C Strategy Consultants, Boston. Rounding out the top five were Zappos and iTunes.