Pottery Barn 2010 Annual Report Download - page 5

To Our Shareholders,
Howard Lester, our former Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, retired last year in
May after 32 years at the helm of our company. In November, we mourned Howard’s passing. Williams-
Sonoma, Inc. is what it is today because of Howard’s vision, boldness, and philosophy on what it takes to make a
retail company great. He was an icon in the industry, and he left the company with a highly experienced
management team, great momentum, and a legacy of core values on which the company was built. We remember
him with affection and appreciation.
In May, Laura Alber was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer. Laura has had an impressive 15
year career with the company. Amongst her many achievements was the leadership of the Pottery Barn brand,
which is now our biggest business. Laura has assumed her new role with distinction, as evidenced by the results
and a number of exciting new strategic initiatives.
2010 was a year of record performance for our company. Each of our brands ended the year stronger, and
initiatives across the organization led to new milestones in profitability. This performance reflects the strength of
our company’s strategies, as well as the quality of our associates and their executive leadership.
In fiscal 2010, our net revenues increased 13% to $3.5 billion, and our diluted earnings per share increased to
$1.83 from $0.72 in fiscal 2009. These strong earnings allowed us to end the year with $628 million in cash after
returning nearly $185 million to our shareholders through stock repurchases and dividends.
During 2010, Laura Alber and Sharon McCollam, our Executive Vice President, Chief Operating and Chief
Financial Officer, joined the Board of Directors. With their combined 25 years of experience with the company,
they bring valuable insight to the Board. Two of our directors, Richard Robertson and David Zenoff, have
decided not to stand for re-election upon expiration of their current terms. I thank them for their years of
dedicated service to the company and their wise contributions to our Board deliberations.
On behalf of the Board, I would also like to thank Laura Alber and her executive team for their excellent
leadership of the business and all of the company’s associates for delivering 2010’s record results. My thanks
also to my fellow Board members for their continued support and guidance.
We are grateful to our shareholders for your ongoing confidence in our company. Our Board believes that we
have the right strategies for the future and that we have the best management team led by Laura Alber to execute
those strategies. We look forward to continued success in 2011.
Adrian D.P. Bellamy
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Shareholders Letters