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Williams-Sonoma Saying Bye Bye Soon?

They closed a call center near me abruptly...

http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11459205

Who knows?

13 Comments:

Uh, oh...I think it's hard for somewhat specialized upscale stores to make it right now. And it seems to me that many stores that were once catalog only and then hit the mall scene haven't done so well. Too much overhead perhaps. Well, hopefully it's just a smart tightening of the budget and not an overall out of business deal.

It wouldn't surprise me if they went catalog/internet only.

Okay, I think we should stop overreacting. Isn't that what we (on the internet) accuse the mainstream media of doing?

They moved a call center from PA to two other states.

It doesn't meant the whole company is going under. . .yet.

So I disagree with the title of this thread. Let's just all breathe, k?

I'm sure a lot of retailers and other businesses are having to consolidate operations for a while. For the unfortunate ones having to close, I feel badly for everyone involved. It will certainly be interesting to see who survives, and it's my belief W-S will be one of the survivors.

OMG. This is really alarming. I hope they try scaling back first. They're in a lot of high end malls.

While I'll admit WS isn't the place for bargain cooking implements, I've found some real gems at their stores. It's also a pleasure for a foodie to wander through a WS in the midst of all the shoes, clothes, and electronic gadgets offered in malls.

I can't imagine missing WS. I have to admit, I love walking into their stores and looking around. I have only bought something there once as someone had given me a gift cert. There stuff is crazy overpriced and anybody with a kitchen supply store nearby can get most anything they have for a lot less money. Understand it's not that I want them to go out of business, on the contrary.... but it does keep the rich folks from crowding my local kitchen supply store.

Let's keep in mind, WS started as a catalog only business. I used to call in my orders.

Never shopped there ... but would this mean a going out of business sale is soon to follow? because I'm cheap :)

Agree with mince...

It's a call center and 330 jobs, which is a shame for the family in this market, but the company still has positive earnings. I don't think it's going anywhere...

It's a call center and 330 jobs, which is a shame for the family in this market, but the company still has positive earnings...

And it just dawns on me they'll be even more positive because guess where those jobs will be shipped? HINT: To a country where the income of the newly employed will give no help whatsoever to the US' financial downward spiral.

Per article: Williams-Sonoma says it is shifting the Camp Hill center's operations to facilities in Oklahoma and Nevada.

Darn you, Midwest and Southwest states, you're taking all our jobs!

On another note, I don't think Williams-Sonoma will be out of the malls anytime soon. As long as brides continue to register for hemstitched linen napkins and Morgan flatware, WS will stay afloat. For me, WS is a nice place to walk around in, but I often walk out empty-handed. I could be revealing my (pitiful) income bracket, but the last sale they had was actually insulting--$6 for handsoap, and over $100 for a gratin dish, for example.

I can't imagine WS going out of business. But closing some stores? oh ... yes... It's a very pleasant store for browsing but I prefer the catalog. Plus some stuff you can get at much better prices elsewhere like Amazon, for instance.

W-S is a store that sells, above all, a "lifestyle".

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