Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Authorizes Additional $150 Million Stock Repurchase Program

SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) today announced that its Board of
Directors has authorized the repurchase of an additional $150 million
of the company's common stock.

The stock repurchase program authorizes the purchase of an
additional $150 million of the company's common stock through open
market and privately negotiated transactions, at times and in such
amounts as management deems appropriate. The timing and actual number
of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors including
price, corporate and regulatory requirements, capital availability,
and other market conditions. The stock repurchase program does not
have an expiration date and may be limited or terminated at any time
without prior notice.

This authorization supplements the company's existing stock
repurchase program. There are 279,389 shares remaining to be purchased
under the 5 million share stock repurchase authorization approved in
March 2007. As of November 25, 2007, there were approximately
106,076,900 shares of the company's common stock outstanding. Since
January 2003, the company has repurchased a total of approximately
20,221,000 shares at an approximate cost of $651 million.

Howard Lester, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "I
am pleased to announce that our board has increased our stock
repurchase authorization by an additional $150 million, supplementing
our March 2007 authorization. During this fiscal year, we have already
returned $184 million in cash to our shareholders through share
repurchases. As I have said before, despite current market conditions,
we are approaching our future with ongoing confidence, not only from a
growth and profit-enhancement point of view, but also from a free cash
flow standpoint. Based on this confidence and our strong cash position
today, we believe this is an ideal time to further demonstrate our
commitment to returning capital to our shareholders by authorizing the
repurchase of additional shares."

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they
do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include
statements related to our stock repurchase program, future growth,
profit enhancement, and projected cash flow.

The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements include accounting adjustments as we close our books for
the fourth quarter of 2007; new interpretations of current accounting
rules; changes to current accounting rules; changes in tax laws
applicable to cash dividends or share repurchases; our ability to
anticipate consumer preferences and buying trends; dependence on
timely introduction and customer acceptance of our merchandise;
construction and other delays in store openings; competition from
companies with concepts or products similar to our concepts and
products; timely and effective sourcing of merchandise from our
foreign and domestic vendors and delivery of merchandise through our
supply chain to our stores and customers; effective inventory
management commensurate with customer demand; our ability to
anticipate and manage customer returns; successful catalog management,
including timing, sizing and merchandising; uncertainties in Internet
marketing, infrastructure and regulation; changes in consumer spending
based on weather, economic, political, competitive and other
conditions beyond our control; construction delays on infrastructure
projects based on weather or other events; multi-channel and
multi-brand complexities; our ability to introduce new brands and
brand extensions; dependence on external funding sources for operating
capital; our ability to control employment, occupancy and other
operating costs; our ability to improve and control our systems and
processes; changes to our information technology infrastructure;
general political, economic and market conditions and events,
including war, conflict or acts of terrorism; and other risks and
uncertainties described more fully in our public announcements,
reports to shareholders and other documents filed with or furnished to
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2007, all quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q for the following fiscal quarters, and all
subsequent current reports on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements
in this press release are based on information available to us as of
the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.

ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a nationwide specialty retailer of high
quality products for the home. These products, representing six
distinct merchandise strategies - Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn,
Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma Home - are
marketed through 597 stores, seven mail order catalogs and six
e-commerce websites.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
Sharon L. McCollam, 415-616-8775
Executive Vice President, COO and CFO
Stephen C. Nelson, 415-616-8754
Director, Investor Relations
Erica Gutierrez, 415-616-8332
Investor Relations Administration

Copyright Business Wire 2008