West Elm (stylized as west elm) is a retail store that features contemporary furniture designs and other housewares. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.[1] There are currently stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the India. Customers are able to shop in-store, online, or through a catalog by telephone. The larger products such as sofas and beds are only displayed in stores for customers to see and feel in-person, likening West Elm to a pure catalog/online retail company.
History
West Elm was founded in April 2002 with the launch of a catalog, with the concept of "great design at affordable price points".[2] followed by the first store in the Dumbo district of Brooklyn, New York later that year.
In Mexico, El Puerto de Liverpool retail group operates the West Elm stores there, which number 10 as of January 2024.[4][5]
In 2010, Jim Brett began as president and sought to "humanize" the products which he characterized as machine made and "soulless" to be more creative.[6]
A growing concern was sustainability, such that by 2020 60% of the products were supporting one of the company's sustainability initiatives.[7]
During 2019-20 West Elm was Williams-Sonoma's fastest growing brand.[7] In 2020, West Elm committed to source at least 15% of their products from black-owned businesses and followed it up with a collection with a black woman.[8][9]
