Williams-Sonoma blows past quarterly estimates

NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - Upscale home-goods chain Williams-Sonoma Inc posted a far stronger-than-expected quarterly profit as it used mailers and exclusive merchandise to lure more shoppers. The operator of Williams-Sonoma cookware stores and the Pottery Barn furnishings chain said net profit was $30.8 million, or 28 cents a share, in the second quarter ended on Aug. 1, compared with $399,000, or break-even per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 31 cents a share. Analysts on average were expecting 22 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net sales