Dive Brief:
- Marta Benson plans to retire from Pottery Barn Brands, parent company Williams-Sonoma announced on Friday. Benson served as president of Pottery Barn brand for nearly seven years and her role expanded to CEO of Pottery Barn Brands last January.
- Pottery Barn President Monica Bhargava and Jennifer Kellor, president of Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen, will assume Benson’s responsibilities, the company said.
- Benson plans to step down on April 26 after about 13 years total with Williams-Sonoma.
Dive Insight:
Although Pottery Barn’s third quarter comp brand revenue fell 16.6% from the prior year it still posted $778 million in net revenue — down from $935 million a year ago. Yet, that’s still the strongest net revenue out of Williams-Sonoma’s brand portfolio. The Pottery Barn Kids and Teen brand was third in net revenue by brand after West Elm, with a 6.9% comp brand decline and $277 million in net revenue, down from $299 million a year prior.
Benson joined Williams-Sonoma in 2011. During her tenure at the San Francisco-based company, she led the acquisition of Rejuvenation, a lighting, home improvement and furniture brand. Benson also developed Mark and Graham, a personalized gift-giving brand focused on typography and design, according to a corporate biography.
“It has been an absolute privilege to contribute to Williams-Sonoma, Inc., the capstone of a 35-year career in specialty multi-channel retail,” Benson said in an announcement. “I have so much respect for the passionate teams that have built such a powerful platform and the most beautiful family of brands in our industry with an authentic commitment to quality, service and sustainability.”
Before joining Williams-Sonoma, Benson also served as CEO and was hired to lead the turnaround of high-end jewelry and housewares store Gump’s in San Francisco. She also served as the senior vice president of merchandising and marketing at RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, according to LinkedIn. While at that company, Benson scaled up its physical store footprint and direct-to-consumer business from zero to $220 million in six years, her bio said.
Last year, Williams-Sonoma said high customer shipping costs cut into the company selling margin, sister publication Supply Chain Dive reported last year. The company was also affected by pandemic-related supply chain disruptions that resulted in late shipments and customer service issues.
Bhargava and Kellor together have 50 years of service with Williams-Sonoma. Bhargava has been with the company for 22 years and was previously chief design officer for Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma Home. Kellor joined the company in 1997 and was previously senior vice president and general merchandise manager for Pottery Barn Teen and held a similar role for Pottery Barn Kids, according to their corporate bios.
Pottery Barn was established in 1949. Williams-Sonoma acquired it in 1986. The company debuted its Pottery Barn Kids brand in 1999 and Pottery Barn Teen in 2003. Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids together had 236 stores out of 532 overall in the Williams-Sonoma corporate portfolio as of July 30.
