Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • July 1996
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.--1990

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Michael Dearing
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:18
ShareBar

Abstract

Howard Lester, chairman and CEO, has just completed a second offering of common stock in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. ($218.2 million 1989 sales). Having targeted $500 million in retail sales, Lester's challenge is to: 1) prioritize growth investments in five existing catalog and store retailing concepts, and 2) align corporate retailing strategy with internal structure and consumer demand. The case presents historical data on the company, its industry, and competitors to support analysis.

Keywords

Corporate Strategy; Alignment; Customer Value And Value Chain; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

Citation

Koehn, Nancy F., and Michael Dearing. "Williams-Sonoma, Inc.--1990." Harvard Business School Case 797-019, July 1996.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Nancy F. Koehn

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • September 24, 2020
    • FastCompany.com

    We Need a COVID-19 D-Day—and the Leadership to Execute it

    By: Nancy F. Koehn and Dutch Leonard
    • May 11, 2020
    • Harvard Business Review: The Big Idea

    How History’s Great Leaders Managed Anxiety: Historian Nancy Koehn on what Lincoln, Shackleton, and Others Knew About Handling Collective Anxiety—and their own—During a Crisis

    By: Nancy F. Koehn
    • April 3, 2020
    • Harvard Business Review (website)

    Real Leaders Are Forged in Crisis

    By: Nancy F. Koehn
More from the Authors
  • We Need a COVID-19 D-Day—and the Leadership to Execute it By: Nancy F. Koehn and Dutch Leonard
  • How History’s Great Leaders Managed Anxiety: Historian Nancy Koehn on what Lincoln, Shackleton, and Others Knew About Handling Collective Anxiety—and their own—During a Crisis By: Nancy F. Koehn
  • Real Leaders Are Forged in Crisis By: Nancy F. Koehn
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College