Furniture Today,
SAN FRANCISCO — Retailer Williams-Sonoma said today that CEO Ed Mueller will retire effective Friday and will be replaced by his predecessor, company board Chairman Howard Lester.


Williams-Sonoma, parent of home furnishings retailers Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma Home, also slightly reduced its revenue forecast for its second quarter, although it raised its earnings per share projection to reflect extra income from unredeemed gift cards.

Lester has been chairman of the retailer since 1986 and was its CEO from 1976 to 2001.

The company also announced the promotion of three other executives:

+ Laura Alber, who has been president of Pottery Barn Brands, is now president of Williams-Sonoma Inc.

+ Sharon McCollam, who has been executive vice president and chief financial officer, retains those titles and adds chief operating officer.

+ Dean Miller, who has been senior vice president, global logistics and sourcing, becomes executive vice president and chief supply chain officer.

Williams-Sonoma’s revised revenue projection for the second quarter is $823 million to $837 million, down from earlier guidance of $842 million $856 million.

But partly because of a pretax $12 million it is adding because of a new estimate of what it will gain from unredeemed gift cards, the company is boosting its projected earnings per share by 5 cents for the quarter and 6 cents for the year. It now projects earnings of 25 cents to 27 cents per share in the second quarter, and $1.97 to $2.01 per share for the year.

In fiscal 2012, it posted EPS of 26 cents in the second quarter and $1.81 for the year.

The company said it will take a severance charge of $5.7 million before tax associated with Mueller’s departure.

“Although the second quarter is turning out to be more challenging on the top line in the Pottery Barn brand than we previously expected, we are extremely pleased with the financial benefits that we are realizing from our ongoing operational and cost containment initiatives,” said Lester.