When Ronald R. Young says Pottery Barn is a good fit for the Philippines because its mother company, Williams-Sonoma Inc., holds the same values as Filipinos, the executive isn’t just mouthing things one expects to hear from the firm’s senior vice president for global strategy. He speaks from personal experience.
Young, an Oregon native who joined Williams-Sonoma Inc. in July this year, is married to a Manila-born Filipino woman, whose father was a US Navy serviceman who settled in Oakland, California, with his family after leaving the service.
Young has vacationed in the Philippines several times in the past and has also visited the country on other occasions while working with other multinational companies. His in-laws are from Luzon, he said.
“The Philippines is great for Pottery Barn because Filipinos are all about family, and those are the same values Williams-Sonoma
has,” Young said. “The Philippines also has strong links with the United States, and many Filipinos come to the United States to shop, so there’s great brand awareness.”
Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids opened their first respective shops in the country this year through their local partner, Stores Specialists Inc. (SSI), at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Taguig City. Pottery Barn is part of the Williams-Sonoma group, a specialty retailer for home products. The Philippines is Pottery Barn’s first market in Southeast Asia.
“Pottery Barn is about home, entertaining, decorating, family, traditions and building memories, and these all resonate with Filipinos,” Young said.
Pottery Barn is all about a casual, classic lifestyle, and 95 percent of the merchandise is designed in-house. At least 5 percent of the items are made in the Philippines. “We take pride in finding artisans all over the world,” Young said. “We do that across all our brands.”
Young has worked for some 30 years in consumer products, 20 years of which were devoted to global markets while with companies like PepsiCo, Gap Inc., Express and The Children’s Place.
Interesting time
Williams-Sonoma’s entry into the country—it will also open another brand, West Elm, with SSI—comes at an interesting time, when its competitors in the United States and other markets are also opening shops here. Its head for global strategy, however, is undaunted.
“We compete with all these brands in the United States and Australia,” he said. “We’ve always been successful. It’s all about the product and the environment.”
Pottery Barn, Young said, is for the “fairly affluent customer. We’re not cheap. We’re good value for money. Our quality and fashion are competitive with everybody.”
He added, however, that there’s something for the customer who may not be able to afford the six-figure living-room set, or the kids’ bedroom showcase. Pottery Barn is a big gifting brand, with classic items like picture frames, clocks, lighting fixtures, lamps, as well as toys and knickknacks at the adjoining Pottery Barn Kids.
Young stressed the fashion element of Pottery Barn, that even in a world where
everything can be copied and counterfeited, there’s one roof where shoppers can find all the inspiration for an entire setup.
“Our service is world-class, that’s why we partnered with SSI, which has the same mentality,” he said. “We have in-home and in-store services. You can come in and sit down with a specialist for consultation. They can come to your home, take measurements, map it out and make recommendations.”
If you don’t have the confidence to decorate your home on your own, and choose to copy the store display or catalog wholesale, like Ross Geller on “Friends” in the episode “The One with the Apothecary Table,” that’s fine, said Young. The catalog is precisely for those kinds of customers.
(And just to be clear, that “Friends” episode wasn’t a Pottery Barn product placement, said Young. “The fact that we’re talking about it still, after so many years, it was incredibly helpful.” It aired nearly 15 years ago.)
When West Elm opens, Filipinos can look forward to a different home aesthetic, said Young. It’s for apartment-type living. “The target is the urban apartment dweller. West Elm has this commitment to community and local artisans. It has its own aesthetic.”