Gary Friedman, president and chief operating officer of San Francisco-based Williams Sonoma Inc., resigned yesterday to pursue other interests, according to the company. Williams-Sonoma did not immediately announce a replacement.
Friedman had been with the company since 1988, when he joined as vice president of retail operations.
The move came on the heels of Williams-Sonoma’s 2000 financial results, in which the company reported that its selling, general and administrative expenses grew while its gross margin shrank. The company cited “less than anticipated demand in the direct-to-consumer channel” during the last half of the year as a factor in driving up the costs of its catalog mailings relative to its revenue.
For the year, its revenue grew 25.3%, from $1.46 billion to $1.83 billion, but its net earnings fell from $68.1 million to $56.8 million.
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