Architecture
Essays

During the timeframe of the case study, Williams-Sonoma is creating a multi-channel based business model that lacks the level of integration between online and brock-and-mortar stores to scale profitably. While the sales are increasing quickly for Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and outlet stores, there is little evidence of online buying behavior driving in-store purchases. Worse yet, there is no indication that the high-end stores in their business are enjoying greater sales as a result of their e-comemrce sites. Without a concerted strategy to drive greater upsell and across channels, Williams-Sonoma will eventually end up being two or more companies. This is exactly why the industry they compete in is also following this growth trajectory; the attempts to focus on several segments at the same time is diluting focus on the selling cycle of customers. Retailers need to realize that the more effectively they manage the selling process both on- and offline as a single, unified strategy, the more profitable over the long-term they will be (King, Sen, Xia, 2004). The case indicates that there are fundamental shifts in how customers are choosing to shop online. The prevalence of social media is a case in point. As customers are increasingly relying on the most trusted sources of information, often their personal networks on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networking sites, to drive their purchasing (Bernoff, J., & Li, 2008). Williams-Sonoma is not taking into account the communitization of their customer base, but rather assuming no interaction between online and offline customers. This is going to drive the company to operate as several different businesses over time. By better managing the entire purchasing process across both online and offline channels, Williams-Sonoma will gain a significant competitive advantage in the market. Today they are encouraging a bifurcated, fragmented view of their channels. By aligning online and offline strategies to a common objective or goal, the company will be able to better manage costs and predict revenue and profits more effectively. In devising and managing a multichannel strategy that involves online shopping and the potential for offline purchasing, retailers are discovering that the decision processes consumers use are changing quickly and significantly in favor of the Web as a product comparison tool (Reynolds, 2002). Williams-Sonoma will be able to unify their online and offline strategies through the more effective use of social media as well, creating a unique and highly differentiated customer experience in the process (Bernoff, J., & Li, 2008). In five years if these changes are made Williams-Sonoma will be able to challenge Amazon and other larger and more diverse competitors with a highly effective, unified e-commerce strategy that interlinks directly to their retail outlets. If they do nothing they will end up just as fragmented as the market they are competing in today, forced to eventually spin off specific retail divisions or store chains that no longer make sense for how far customers have changed in their decision-making and purchasing criteria. The bottom line is that how, where and who customers trust for information is changing much more rapidly than the Williams-Sonoma existing channel architecture and e-commerce strategies can allow for.

There's a lot more to life than sports and athletic competition in the name of glory. But when a sports-focused individual is on a roll and has either achieved fame, money, and championship level victories - or is in…

Judaism (Introduction, Worship Site Review, Interview, Comparison/Contrast with Christianity)

How is the City of Verona being sold on the Internet and on the Web, and what makes the city attractive to the visitor, and what are the factors that would make him choose this city in favor of any others.

Although the history of architecture dates back to very ancient times, beginning roughly in Mesopotamia, circa 4,000 B.C.E., it is during the period known as the Renaissance in which architecture truly began to…

The fast food industry is very well represented by a few major companies, Pizza Hut being one of them the company was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, although its current headquarters is in Addison, Texas.

This particular piece of art is a limestone statue, which in all likelihood, originally was a painted piece. Limestone was a precious mineral, and would have most likely been honed and by prepared by a servant or slave…

Inigo Jones (1573-1652) was the first and perhaps the greatest of English Renaissance architects who left a profound influence on the course of British art and architecture. Before being elevated to the post of Surveyor…

Knowledge of Romans' diet comes from literary references, archeological evidence, and paintings. The only true literary source ever devoted to Roman food was a cookbook attributed to Apicus (Davis 1961, 102).

This paper consists of a series of conclusions for chapters examining aspects of society from the Renaissance through the Machine Age. The chapters address cultural environment, scientific environment, economic environment, general management, architectural principles, construction technology, the master builder transition, and the 18 major building projects from the time periods.