Cover and table of contents

10K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown

Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM

10-K

(Mark One):

☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021.

OR

☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from

to

Commission file number

001-14077

WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware94-2203880
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
3250 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA94109
(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(415) 421-7900

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class:Trading Symbol(s):Name of each exchange on which registered:
Common Stock, par value $.01 per shareWSMNew York Stock Exchange, Inc.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation

S-T

(§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a

non-accelerated

filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule

12b-2

of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated

filer

☒ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated

filer ☐

Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule

12b-2

of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of August 2, 2020, the approximate aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by

non-affiliates

was $6,720,032,000. It is assumed for purposes of this computation that an affiliate includes all persons as of August 2, 2020 listed as executive officers and directors with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This aggregate market value includes all shares held in the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Stock Fund within the registrant’s 401(k) Plan.

As of March 21, 2021, 76,192,973 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, also referred to in this Annual Report on Form

10-K

as our Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, have been incorporated in Part III hereof.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form

10-K

and the letter to stockholders contained in this Annual Report contain forward-looking statements within the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our business and operating results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to: projections of earnings, revenues, growth and other financial items; the strength of our business and our brands; our ability to execute strategic priorities and growth initiatives regarding digital leadership, product and technology innovation, cross-brand initiatives, retail transformation and operational excellence; our beliefs about our competitive advantages and areas of potential future growth in the market; our ability to drive long-term sustainable returns; the plans, strategies, initiatives and objectives of management for future operations; our brands, products and related initiatives, including our ability to introduce new brands, brand extensions, products and product lines and bring in new customers; our belief that our

e-commerce

websites and direct-mail catalogs act as a cost-efficient means of testing market acceptance of new products and new brands; the complementary nature of our

e-commerce

and retail channels; our marketing efforts; our acquisition of Outward, Inc., including the valuation of intangible assets acquired; our global business and expansion efforts, including franchise, other third-party arrangements and company-owned operations; our ability to attract new customers; the seasonal variations in demand; our ability to recruit, retain and motivate skilled personnel; our belief in the reasonableness of the steps taken to protect the security and confidentiality of the information we collect; our belief in the adequacy of our facilities and the availability of suitable additional or substitute space; our belief in the ultimate resolution of current legal proceedings; the payment of dividends; our stock repurchase program; our capital allocation strategy in fiscal 2021; our planned use of cash in fiscal 2021; our compliance with financial covenants; our belief that our cash on hand and available credit facilities will provide adequate liquidity for our business operations over the next 12 months; the impact of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; the impact of tariffs on our business and our results of operations; our belief regarding the effects of potential losses under our indemnification obligations; the impact of inflation; the effects of changes in our inventory reserves; the impact of new accounting pronouncements; the impact of the coronavirus on our retail store operations, global supply chain and customer spending and demand; and statements of belief and statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. You can identify these and other forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology.

The risks, uncertainties and assumptions referred to above that could cause our results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A hereto and the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed from time to time in our other public filings and public announcements. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM

10-K

FISCAL YEAR ENDED JANUARY 31, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
PART I
Item 1.Business3
Item 1A.Risk Factors8
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments29
Item 2.Properties29
Item 3.Legal Proceedings30
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures30
PART II
Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities31
Item 6.Selected Financial Data33
Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations34
Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk45
Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data46
Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure72
Item 9A.Controls and Procedures72
Item 9B.Other Information73
PART III
Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance74
Item 11.Executive Compensation74
Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters74
Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence74
Item 14.Principal Accountant Fees and Services74
PART IV
Item 15.Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules75
Item 16.Form 10-K Summary81

PART I

Next: Item 1. BUSINESS