If I had a dollar for every person who had asked me when Pottery Barn and West Elm are opening in Bondi, I’d be pretty rich. I’m happy to tell you that the anticipated opening date is the first week in May, so not long to wait now!
American retailer Williams-Sonoma, Inc. signed a lease in August for 2,040 square metres of retail space to house four of its iconic brands: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm, at the newly constructed Exchange Building at Bondi Junction. The stores are the first outside of North America to be owned and operated by the retailer as part of its overall global expansion strategy.
Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer, Williams-Sonoma, Inc, said: “We have spent a great deal of time looking for the right location and believe that the Exchange Building possesses the key elements for success. It offers us a central shopping location with easy access for pedestrians and commuters, as well as the perfect amount of space to introduce our brands to Australia.”
What you can expect
Williams-Sonoma is a leading specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home, selling cookware, cooks’ tools, cutlery, electrics, bakeware, tabletop and bar, outdoor, cookbooks and decorative accessories. A specialty food hall offers a range of distinctive food items, from pre-prepared foods and mixes, to spices and sauces that enhance the culinary experience. The Sydney store will feature a cooking school and professional demonstration kitchen with a full calendar of cooking classes, tastings and demonstrations conducted by expert culinary staff and guest chefs.
Pottery Barn was founded on the idea that home furnishings should be exceptional in comfort, quality, style, and value. The Sydney store will reflect this ethos and will be organised according to lifestyle displays, designed to inspire customers and make shopping easy and enjoyable. At the centre of the store will be the Design Studio, a destination for customers to sit and discuss their furniture and decorating needs and plan their space with specially trained associates.
Pottery Barn Kids offers exclusive, innovative, and high-quality products designed specifically with children in mind for creating magical spaces where children can play, laugh, learn and grow. Product categories available in the Sydney store will include furniture, bedding, bathroom accessories, window treatments, rugs, lighting, decorative accessories, classic toys, nursery essentials, and gear such as luggage, backpacks, and reusable lunch bags.
Since it launched in 2002, West Elm has been helping people express their personal style at home with authentic, affordable, and approachable products. Each season, West Elm’s talented in-house team of designers creates a collection that can’t be found anywhere else, and works with artists and independent designers globally and locally to develop collaborations that are exclusive to the brand. The brand also offers handmade and one-of-a-kind discoveries from around the world, working closely with organisations that support the development of global craft communities and artisan skills.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait 🙂
So excited about this, and I’m really hoping they incorporate the same sort of prices offered in their USA stores rather then doing what all e Aussie stores like “House” who sell stuff not nearly as nice as Pottery Barn and with double the price tag.
I couldn’t agree more!
I know someone who works there, most of the prices will remain close to US, however there will be slight increases as they need to ship the merchandise here. In order for them to make any profits and stay open they will have to increase prices. Don’t forget it is more expensive for a US retailer to do business here, our minimum wage is 2x that in the US.
I am looking SO incredibly forward to these 3 brands and stores opening in May – a lot sooner that I thought they would be opening! Even though I live 1.5 hours south of Sydney, I know I will be making special trips to visit and shop at all of these fantastic retailers! Bring on May!!
Do we know if they will operate an online store from Australia? Would be great for the non-Sydneysiders 🙂
I don’t know but you’d hope so!
Yes, the Australia Website goes live beginning of May, They will ship across all of Australia
Can NOT wait!!!!! I will be making a trip to Sydney for this one 🙂
Seriously excited for this opening. xT
I am very looking forward to visit the new Home Ware stores in Bondi Junction. I was so excited when I saw the signs on the exchange building about these stores opening soon. I first heard about Pottery Barn on an episode of the commedy sitcom “Friends” and I thought it will be nice if we had that store here in Sydney.
Maryann
How exciting!! I can’t wait for WS to open I hope the prices are comparable to the US. I’ve just returned from Hawaii and went to their store in the Ala Moana mall it was just awesome !!!
I can’t wait for WS to open. I really really want the Zig Zag rug from West Elm. And it’s about time we had more variety and competition here in Australia. Hopefully they will have an Australian online store as well.
I am absolutely thrilled to see Pottery Barn & Williams-Sonoma being part of the Australian retail collection. Having furnished several houses in the US in recent years will make it fun again to start an interior design project in Oz. The only question that remains is the price tag on their goods downunder!!???
It is fantastic that Pottery Barn are coming to Australia. I lived in the USA for many years and purchased a lot of furniture from them over the years (particularly PB and PBK). Their furniture is stylish, very well made and reasonably priced (unlike most of the over-priced, over-modern furniture which sold here).
One thing that I am very curious about is how they manage product offerings here. Specifically, whether they will have the same product offerings as in the USA and how they will run their inventory (i.e. will it be kept here and shipped from local inventory, or will large furniture items be shipped from the USA as ‘special orders’). I am also very interested to see what they do with their lighting collection. PB (and their very upmarket older sister, Restoration Hardware) have fantastic lighting. Of course, PB in the USA manufactures lighting for US 110v, meaning the products would need to be altered and rated for 240v to be sold here. You can ship lighting from the PB website to Australia already, but it needs to be rewired. For some of the larger items, rewiring is either impossible or prohibitively expensive. It would be a real shame if PB didn’t sell their lighting here as a result.
I have loved Williams-Sonoma for years and have spent so much when in the States and impotrted it back here that the last time I was in the US, the Williams-Sonoma staff who know me said that they were opening in Bondi and that they were not sure what else I could buy as I had bought most of the products from their store!! I love this place and could spend hours just going through the many items they stock. Cannot wait!
I’m a dual citizen, USA & Australia. WS coming to Australia finally! However, don’t expect to see the full line of products and prices here will be anywhere from 25% to 60% higher than in the USA. The higher cost of retail space, higher labor costs, higher utilities, restrictive labor rules, and customs and duties fees will squash any hopes of seeing comparable pricing to the USA. However, that said, it’ll still be cheaper than traveling to the USA to visit WS and hauling it back with the high excessive baggage fees we pay. Most of my cookware here in Australia was acquired this way and in the end, it wasn’t cheap getting it here. WS in the USA is famous for its customer service, another thing sadly lacking here in Australia. I hope WS can import their customer service culture here- they are a fantastic company to do business with.
I have to agree with you on the customer service. (We) Aussies definitely lack in the care, respect and knowledge that should be customer service!
Why should the prices be more expensive in Australia? Most of Pottery Barn’s merchandise is made in China and India it’s not as though they are shipping from the US or paying wages for US manufacturing. They would have certainly done their market research and they would know exactly how much Australians are willing to pay and they will charge no more, no less.
Products might be manufactured in India or China but might still be sent direct from WS warehouse, versus vendor direct. I don’t expect prices to be the same…slightly higher. So excited though for more options in the Aussie market!
Very excited to have you finally setting up shop in Bondi! However I live in WA and still want to have access to amazing homewares and furniture at a reasonable price. Please please we need a online australian order system. I particularly like your Hindi pendants and much much more!
I love Williams-Sonoma and spent many a long hour in both their San Francisco and Honolulu stores. I anticipate that with Australia’s higher salary caps that the products will be more expensive. But for me it’s about the variety of quality and choice. I only recent purchased products from Pottery Barn on Market St in the Castro. Great store wonderful staff.
Hi Jen,
I’m a Chicagoan with a son over there living in Indooroopilly. I was hoping to see a williams-sonoma au online where I could order something for my son for Easter. The problem is mailing from the states takes too long and chocolate will melt. Do you know of a place in AU that has a website where I could order Easter type candy or a filled Easter basket online from here and have it shipped there? Thank you! ~ Jeanne
Hi Jeanne! Sending any kind of food from overseas into australia can be a real pain! You could try Haigh’s, a very traditional and good quality chocolate shop. Their ordering process is a little old fashioned but it can be done by email. their chocolate is divine. See here: http://www.haighschocolates.com.au/contact/how-to-purchase/ Also try Max Brenner for a much easier online ordering process and good Easter selection: http://shop.maxbrenner.com.au/c-14-everything-max.aspx?showpromo=0 Hope that helps! Jen
Hi I am an Aussie Mum with my son living in Chicago – you could try Chocolatier – I am sure they will deliver, a family owned business, made locally and very nice chocolate
We need an opening date for Bondi Junction! Can you update your website please.
Thanks
Janette
The only published opening date is “early May” at this stage Janette.
May 2
I am SOOOOO excited about this news!! I live up in Newcastle but I will definitely be frequenting these stores! My sister in law just moved back from San Fran. and I was about to help her fill her shipping container with a few purchases from Pottery Barn Kids (I have 3 little girls)!!! So this is very exciting news!
I hope WS will stock the delicious offerings from Stonewall kitchens
does anyone have a customer service number or the bondi store phone number. i cant locate it on line. i tried to order on line but the austrslia option did not come up. kim
The number can be found here: http://www.potterybarn.com.au/s.nl/it.I/id.23/.f