West Elm London Will be the First Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Store in Europe

West Elm Melbourne Follows Recent Sydney Openings

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- (Business Wire)

Home furnishings retailer West Elm, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands (NYSE: WSM), announced today that it has signed two leases for stores in the UK and Australia. The first is for approximately 12,000 square feet of retail space at 209 Tottenham Court Road in London, representing the first Williams-Sonoma, Inc. store in Europe. The second store will be located at 464 Chapel Street in Melbourne, is approximately 8,000 square feet, and follows the recent openings of four Williams-Sonoma, Inc. stores – West Elm, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids – in Sydney on May 2^nd. Both West Elm stores are currently slated to open in late 2013.

“We're excited to announce our first West Elm store in Europe, and to continue our global expansion in Australia,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

“The cities of London and Melbourne have such vibrant communities centered around design and innovation. I couldn’t think of two better locations for our next West Elm stores,” said Jim Brett, President of West Elm. “We are confident the broad assortment, globally-inspired aesthetic and engaging in-store experience of West Elm will appeal to customers in both cities.”

THE WEST ELM EXPERIENCE

Since its launch in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York, West Elm has been helping people express their personal style at home with authentic, affordable, and approachable products. With a focus on making things that matter, the brand collaborates with independent artists and craft communities to create statement pieces and seasonal collections that make a positive impact on people and the environment. An increasing number of West Elm products are marked “West Elm Green” – a label that proudly indicates responsibly produced, organic, recycled, rapidly renewable, or non-toxic products. The West Elm assortment includes furniture, bedding, bathroom accessories, rugs, window textiles & hardware, lighting, decorative accessories, dining, kitchen products and gifts.

In store, West Elm offers a suite of helpful services at the Design Lab, a center of creativity and inspiration where customers can partner on complimentary design consultations and space planning sessions. On westelm.com, and on the West Elm blog, Front & Main, customers can find the latest collections, helpful design tips and tools, videos and information about current collaborations, as well as share photos of their homes, inspiring one another and discovering new ways to express their personal style. West Elm is also part of an active community on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.

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 relating to our anticipated opening of retail stores in the United Kingdom and Australia and the success of such stores, 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 risks that our stores do not open on schedule or are not successful, and the risk that we are not able to execute our global 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 3, 2013 and all subsequent 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.

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 (cookware and wedding registry), Pottery Barn (furniture and wedding registry), Pottery Barn Kids (kids’ furniture and baby registry), PBteen (girls’ bedding and boys’ bedding), West Elm (modern furniture and room decor), Williams-Sonoma Home (luxury furniture and decorative accessories), Rejuvenation (lighting and hardware) and Mark and Graham (personalized gifts and gifts for the home) – are marketed through e-commerce websites, direct mail catalogs and 587 stores. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. currently operates in the United States, Canada and Australia, offers international shipping to customers worldwide, and has an unaffiliated franchisee that operates 24 stores in the Middle East.

Contacts:

WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.
Abigail Jacobs, 718-780-4488
VP, Public Relations
ajacobs@wsgc.com

Source: Williams-Sonoma, Inc.