Pioneer in Entertaining and Retail Changed the Way America Cooks
Charles E. “Chuck” Williams, founder and director emeritus of
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM), has died of natural causes, the
company announced today. The retail and culinary icon who ignited
America’s passion for cooking and desire for high quality cookware was
100 years-old.
Mr. Williams’ personal love of cooking and entertaining, coupled with
his belief that professional and home cooks should have access to
high-quality cookware and tools, inspired him to open his first
Williams-Sonoma store in 1956 in Sonoma, California. From his stores,
and the popular catalog and cookbooks that followed, he fueled a
national interest in culinary exploration that is now a staple of
American culture. Mr. Williams often said that his deep appreciation for
products and relationships that last a lifetime served as his compass at
Williams-Sonoma. His commitment to superior customer service and
innovative merchandising continues today at the multi-billion dollar
corporation that bears his name.
Mr. Williams was best known as the merchant who introduced America to
French kitchen products such as the soufflé dish, the Madeleine mold,
the sauté pan and even balsamic vinegar, but his impact on American life
was more profound. He introduced American cooks to the tastes and tools
of new cultures, inspired curiosity around exotic flavors and
preparations, and enriched American home and family life by bringing
people together around food. Mr. Williams was equally respected outside
of the kitchen as a generous benefactor of culinary education,
healthcare and youth services.
“Chuck taught us that when we open our doors to a customer, we welcome a
friend into our home,” said Laura Alber, President and CEO of
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “He had impeccable taste, unique insight for
selecting the right products at the right time, and the highest standard
of customer service. Most of all, Chuck was our mentor and our friend.
We will miss him dearly.”
Born October 2, 1915 in northern Florida, Mr. Williams’ earliest
memories were of hand-mixing egg whites for divinity fudge and lemon
meringue pies with his grandmother, who once owned her own restaurant.
“This was before electric mixers, so I had to use a big oval platter and
a fork. It took forever, but I didn’t mind. Being in the kitchen with
her made me happy,” he told Fortune in 2003.
Deeply impacted by the Great Depression, Mr. Williams’ family relocated
to Palm Springs, California, where he worked in carpentry and customer
service at the roadside stand of a family-owned date ranch. Just before
World War II, Mr. Williams moved to Los Angeles, where he honed his
visual merchandise skills in window-dressing positions at I.Magnin and
Bullocks.
During the war, Mr. Williams served as a volunteer for Lockheed’s
traveling maintenance crews and utilized his time while stationed in
India and Africa to explore the regions’ food, drinks, and unique
cooking techniques and tools. Shortly after returning home, he visited
the northern California community of Sonoma on a golf trip. His
affection for the town was immediate, and he soon relocated from
southern California to start a home construction business.
A two-week trip to Paris in 1953 changed his life, and ultimately the
cooking habits of the nation. "I couldn't get over seeing so many great
things for cooking, the heavy pots and pans, white porcelain ovenware,
country earthenware, great tools and professional knives," Mr. Williams
told The Washington Post in 2005. The trip inspired him to open
the first Williams-Sonoma store in the fall of 1956. Located off of
Sonoma’s town square, Mr. Williams refurbished the location by hand. He
covered the floor with black and white checkerboard tiles, painted the
walls a bright yellow that he’d seen in pictures, and built custom
shelving to display individual pots and pans. He crafted a simple logo
with the words “Williams” and “Sonoma” in block letters over a woodcut
illustration of a pineapple – a symbol of hospitality.
Mr. Williams’ first store was an enormous success. In 1958, he relocated
to a 3,000-square foot store on Sutter Street in San Francisco, adjacent
to the city’s bustling Union Square shopping district. The popularity of
Julia Child’s landmark cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,”
and her cooking show on television drove additional interest and
customers to Williams-Sonoma. Commitment to the notion of “the customer
as a friend” remained strong at the Sutter Street store, where Mr.
Williams was known to gladly look after the dogs of San Francisco’s most
fervent shoppers while they visited a nearby salon. Shoppers picked up
kitchen necessities, along with their pooches, after appointments.
The first Williams-Sonoma catalog was published in 1958. It was black
and white, fit into a business-sized envelope and had an initial
printing of 10,000. By 1972, Mr. Williams’ store on Sutter Street had
expanded to twice its original size and the catalog was flourishing.
With the help of business partners, Williams-Sonoma became
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and expanded to Beverly Hills and then Palo Alto,
California. In 1978, Mr. Williams sold the company to Howard Lester, who
became the Chairman and CEO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and one of Mr.
Williams’ closest friends. In 1983, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. became a
public company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mr. Williams remained closely involved with the company, and in 1986 he
published his first cookbook, “The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook with a Guide
to Kitchenware.” Since then, he has written or edited more than 200
cookbooks, including the best-selling Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library
series, which has collectively sold more than 20 million copies. Mr.
Williams never retired from the company he founded, continuing to edit
cookbooks, provide input on merchandise strategies, and make public
appearances well into his nineties. “I don’t think of us as a huge
company, though, but as one store,” he told Fortune in 2003. “I
still recommend what appeals to me, and what I think represents good
design. I think people will always respond to that.”
During his career, Mr. Williams was honored numerous times with industry
awards, and was inducted into the Halls of Fame for both the Culinary
Institute of America and the Direct Marketing Association. Mr. Williams
was a generous philanthropist, providing support to the Culinary
Institute of America, California Pacific Medical Center, Food Runners,
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the San Francisco AIDS
Foundation, and the Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma County.
In lieu of flowers, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. asks that donations be made in
Mr. Williams name to Food
Runners and St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a specialty retailer of high-quality products
for the home. These products, representing eight distinct merchandise
strategies – Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm,
PBteen, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham – are
marketed through e-commerce websites, direct mail catalogs and 623
stores. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. currently operates in the United States,
Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offers international shipping
to customers worldwide, and has unaffiliated franchisees that operate
stores in the Middle East, Philippines and Mexico City.
