Second-quarter net sales for San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma grew 22.6%, from $215.3 million in 1998 to $264 million in 1999, while net earnings rose 79.9%, from $3.8 million to $6.9 million. Retail sales for the quarter were $172.5 million, up 21.8% from the $141.7 million in second-quarter 1998. Catalog sales, which include the recently introduced Internet Wedding and Gift registry, increased 24.3% in the second quarter from $73.6 million to $91.5 million.
Total net sales for the first half of 1999 were $522,676,000, a 24.0% increase from the comparable period of 1998, with catalog sales jumping from $150.8 million to $191.8 million. Net earnings rose 70.1%, from just under $6 million to $10.2 million. The quarter and the half ended Aug. 1.
A statement from the company attributed part of the increase in earnings to the company's sale of its Gardeners Eden catalog.
