December 11, 2015
What Chuck Williams did for retail
Much in the way that Julia Child introduced culinary cuisine to Americans through television and James Beard did so through writing, Chuck Williams brought gourmet cooking to retail.
The founder of Williams-Sonoma, who passed way last Saturday of natural causes at the age of 100, is best known as the merchant who introduced America to French kitchen products such as the soufflé dish, the Madeleine mold and the sauté pan. He is being remembered as one of the pioneers who inspired America’s curiosity of exotic flavors and the thrill of cooking from scratch.
Mr. Williams opened the first Williams-Sonoma store in 1956 and sent out the first glossy Williams-Sonoma catalog in 1971. While selling the business in 1978, he remained as the company’s public face and stayed active with the company, including writing or editing more than 200 cookbooks. His last title was director emeritus.
Numerous obituaries in recent days have recalled his foremost talent as a merchant, bringing garlic presses, food processors and pasta machines to America’s kitchens. He is considered the first to import balsamic vinegar from Italy.
Chuck Williams – Photo: Williams-Sonoma
"In the early days of my show," Ms. Child told Newsweek in 1997, "the home chef couldn’t buy any of the items I used for cooking; you had to buy them the next time you went to France. Chuck changed all that."
Mr. Williams was inspired to launch Williams-Sonoma after a two-week trip to Paris in 1953. He told The Washington Post in 2005, "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."
A former carpenter and building contractor, Mr. Williams also earned credit for the way he artfully displayed pots and pans in his locations as if they were fashion items.
"He had such great sense of taste," Alice Waters, founder of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant, said in a 2005 interview with the San Jose Mercury News. "He lured people in through the beauty and the art of cooking."
Committed to the notion of "the customer as a friend," Mr. William’s stores became renowned for their patient, attentive and knowledgeable staffs.
"It was almost like going to shop in some friend’s kitchen," Jeremiah Tower, the chef who owned San Francisco’s Stars restaurant, recalled in an interview with The New York Times.
Mr. Williams was also given credit for understanding how food and food preparation could bring people together. In a 1995 oral history on Williams-Sonoma, Mr. Williams recalled, "Right from the beginning in the store, this is what it was all about — talking food, talking recipes, making a charlotte, a cheesecake, a muffin."
- Charles E. "Chuck" Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma, dies at 100 – Williams Sonoma/Business Wire
- Chuck Williams, Founder of Williams-Sonoma, Dies at 100 – The New York Times (tiered sub.)
- Chuck Williams, Williams-Sonoma founder and California foodie pioneer, is dead at 100 – Los Angeles Times (tiered sub.)
- Chuck Williams, Founder of Williams-Sonoma Retailer, Dies at 100 – Bloomberg
- Chuck Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma, dies at 100 – The Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News
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Ryan Mathews
Founder, CEO, Black Monk Consulting
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
How did Chuck Williams and the Williams-Sonoma concept recast the kitchenware opportunity? What are some obvious and less obvious reasons for Williams-Sonoma’s success over the years? What lessons does Williams-Sonoma offer to retailers in other channels?
Poll
Williams must be credited with creating the idea of food as fashion, i.e., that was most important aspect of food and cooking was the accessorizing, even more than the meal.
Once that particular Pandora’s box was opened a seemingly endless parade of practical, and less than practical, “kitchen jewelry” emerged transforming kitchens across the country from places where food is prepared to bragging spaces proclaiming the owner’s hipness.
As to why it worked, it was a mix of timing — the Greatest Generation was comfortably settling en masse into Father Knows Best nests, each with its own Donna Reed in the kitchen — and media. In short, exactly the same formula that gave us the celebrity chef, from St. Julia to (eventually) the Food Network.
As to the lessons, the first would be “He or she who jumps ahead of a trend gets to cash out first.” But there is also a cautionary tale here about the dangers of the artist in the marketplace. Clearly it’s good to have a trusted CPA to accompany your passion.
All said though, Chuck Williams made it to a 100, a household name and a guy who did well doing what he did well. All in all, not a bad legacy.
Chuck Williams excelled at curating inspiring but accessible culinary experiences to an audience that was ready to step up from food to cuisine (but maybe didn’t know or couldn’t articulate the need). I believe he was one of the earliest at turning shopping into a social experience with the great catalogs that read as lifestyle magazines and stores with passionate and truly helpful associates.
Williams-Sonoma has always kept its pulse on the market and keeps a good balance of basics, fresh merchandise and new ideas for customers at various levels, life-stages and lifestyles.
While my cooking style has changed over the years, I still go to his stores for inspiration, use my favorite W-S kitchen tools and prepare his herb-roasted turkey recipe each year at Thanksgiving!
I am certain Mr Williams turned the retail space on their ears in the early ’50s. This was, indeed, a brand new concept. He took the risk, had the talent and beyond all that, the brand still thrives in 2015.
I really didn’t know the rich history behind Williams-Sonoma and how it brought kitchenware into a new place. It all took place around the year of my birth so it was old school by the time I grew. Still it was a cool place to shop, if you were into that sort of thing.
Cheers and my 2 cents go to Chuck Williams.
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Williams must be credited with creating the idea of food as fashion, i.e., that was most important aspect of food and cooking was the accessorizing, even more than the meal.
Once that particular Pandora’s box was opened a seemingly endless parade of practical, and less than practical, “kitchen jewelry” emerged transforming kitchens across the country from places where food is prepared to bragging spaces proclaiming the owner’s hipness.
As to why it worked, it was a mix of timing — the Greatest Generation was comfortably settling en masse into Father Knows Best nests, each with its own Donna Reed in the kitchen — and media. In short, exactly the same formula that gave us the celebrity chef, from St. Julia to (eventually) the Food Network.
As to the lessons, the first would be “He or she who jumps ahead of a trend gets to cash out first.” But there is also a cautionary tale here about the dangers of the artist in the marketplace. Clearly it’s good to have a trusted CPA to accompany your passion.
All said though, Chuck Williams made it to a 100, a household name and a guy who did well doing what he did well. All in all, not a bad legacy.
Chuck Williams excelled at curating inspiring but accessible culinary experiences to an audience that was ready to step up from food to cuisine (but maybe didn’t know or couldn’t articulate the need). I believe he was one of the earliest at turning shopping into a social experience with the great catalogs that read as lifestyle magazines and stores with passionate and truly helpful associates.
Williams-Sonoma has always kept its pulse on the market and keeps a good balance of basics, fresh merchandise and new ideas for customers at various levels, life-stages and lifestyles.
While my cooking style has changed over the years, I still go to his stores for inspiration, use my favorite W-S kitchen tools and prepare his herb-roasted turkey recipe each year at Thanksgiving!
I am certain Mr Williams turned the retail space on their ears in the early ’50s. This was, indeed, a brand new concept. He took the risk, had the talent and beyond all that, the brand still thrives in 2015.
I really didn’t know the rich history behind Williams-Sonoma and how it brought kitchenware into a new place. It all took place around the year of my birth so it was old school by the time I grew. Still it was a cool place to shop, if you were into that sort of thing.
Cheers and my 2 cents go to Chuck Williams.