the opening of its Williams-Sonoma Australian flagship at Sydney’s Bondi Junction. In short time over the last three years, the retailer has grown its local presence to 19 stores across its Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids brands, as well as factory outlet in Canberra that stocks products from across these four brands. Its store network covers Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth; the newest stores to open (on October 1, 2015) were a Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. Justin Grey: Williams-Sonoma has come a long way in short time since establishing stores in Australia. Has it been a gradual increase year on year since May 2013? Evan Hutton: Gradual wouldn’t even be the right word; there’s been some really great, rapid growth. Obviously continuing to have new store openings and moving into new markets contributed to this, but as we continue to grow in terms of customer awareness and start to know our market better and start to connect with our communities and customers better, we’ll continue to see that grow. Since we started here three years ago business has been extremely good for us. We’ve been really thrilled with the responses we’ve gotten from our customers. We’re continuing to grow and expand across the country, and move into new markets. We’ve opened in two new markets in the past year, in Perth and Brisbane, and they continue to be really great successes. Our fiscal year actually just finished in January, and we’re really pleased with the results. And we’re looking forward to a lot of great things to come. The plan was always to bring in all of the brands at the same time across the four that we have here and to expand very aggressively. To go into a new country, you want to have scale and grow your brand awareness and make sure you’re making a big impact. JG: The launch of Williams-Sonoma in Australia marked the first stores outside of North America to be wholly owned and operated by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. What was behind that decision? EH: We do have a store in the UK as well, but [it was] really a big decision based on the business that we were doing with e-commerce here. We were selling to the Australian market via e-commerce. We definitely recognised that we had a customer base here that knew who we were and was excited about our products. And we felt like this was a market where we would be a really good fit. And also one that we felt like we could be successful in and that really contributed to the decision. JG: How are the newest stores in Brisbane and Perth performing? EH: Fantastic. We are so pleased to be [in Brisbane]. It’s a great community and we’ve had a lot of great feedback from influencers and customers alike. It’s been a really nice reception there. It’s great to be in a new market; it’s been very telling for us to keep going into new markets because we really get a chance to know our customers better and what they want. What somebody wants in Perth versus what somebody wants in Brisbane is very different, and by being there we get a chance to hear from our customers on what they’re looking for. JG: Will future stores continue with the same adjoined format of existing Australian stores, where each brand is situated side by side inline in the same premises? EH: Our strategy is to really treat it like it is a portfolio or brands that are focused on our customers here, but allow our customers to shop between the brands. So you can see that the business model in a number of our stores is you have to pass through from one brand to the next, because we really do see it as a whole portfolio of brands that allow us to address different ages and stages for our customers’ lives, and allow them to address their own unique tastes and styles and leverage it across the brands. Obviously we’re very focused on entertaining and decorating, and we allow ourselves to address that for our customers across all four brands, versus segmenting them. I would say they each have their own unique style and offer, but collectively they also are a great offer to our customers. We really focus on making sure that each brand has a unique identity and a unique value proposition, but at the same time there’s a common thread throughout. JG: How difficult has it been to find the ideal real estate to accommodate this store strategy? EH: Because our stores are so focused on really being inspirational, experiential stores, we’re very focused on being in the right environment. You can tell from being in our stores that the way we merchandise is a very critical part of our brand. The events and activities we have in our stores is a very critical part of our brand. So real estate plays a big factor in that because you want to have a location that really feels like a home for us to be in. JG: Has launching physical stores in Australia cannibalised local online sales across the brands e-commerce platforms? EH: We find that it’s complementary, and that’s something that we have historically seen in our businesses over the years, even in the US. We definitely find that the two feed each other, and they’re not a cannibalistic relationship. When we open a new store we actually see our businesses improve online in those markets. And particularly here in Australia, where we continue to grow our customer awareness. So by getting that store open and allowing the customers to come in and see and touch and experience our great customer service and products, then that just benefits both channels. The e-commerce business, which is a good portion of our business, really allows us to understand where our customers are. Studying the demographics of the market and the real estate opportunities, it’s really important for us to find a place that will feel like home and a great location, like the ones we found in Perth and in Brisbane. So it’s the combination of all those factors. And there will always be additional markets and opportunities beyond that. JG: Where does Australia sit within the broader global operations and priorities for Williams-Sonoma, Inc.? EH: As a company we really prioritise and value global growth, so that is a big initiative for us each year. Our intent is to really show a sign of the company to this business and to this country. We’re opening a new warehouse [in Eastern Creek, western Sydney] with DHL and are starting to move product. The focus for us is to continue to refine and define our business operations here. And there’s absolute commitment from the company overall about our stake here in Australia. We’ll definitely continue to look for new opportunities. Our plan here is for growth. JG: A much-discussed topic in recent years is the increasing arrival of major international retail brands in Australia. You’re on the other side of this equation; what do you make of it? EH: One of the things that we really focus on is the fact that we know that we have a market here, that customers really like our brands, and that there’s a lot of respect for them. We’re excited that we’re able to employ over 500 Australians here in this market. What we really love too is while we’re an international brand, we partner with so many local people here and actually highlight their businesses, so small businesses such as a local baker that gets highlighted in a Williams-Sonoma store. So it really is important to us that no matter where we are from we’re relevant in the local market and contributing to the local community. Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.