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Fortune

Emma Hinchliffe

Williams Sonoma’s CEO defied the retail apocalypse. Now a gloomy economy is forcing even her well-off customers to spend less

Laura Alber Williams Sonoma Economy Pottery Barn Sonoma West Elm Pottery Barn Kids Inflation

(Credit: Winni Wintermeyer for Fortune)

Laura Alber loves Williams Sonoma. Like, really loves it. Sure, many Fortune 500 CEOs would say the same of their companies. But Alber’s devotion to the $8.7-billion-in-revenue home furnishings retailer—from growing its global business to studying French porcelain—borders on fanaticism. “It’s my heart,” she says. In fact, she likens it to a spouse. When asked if she would ever consider another CEO job, she quickly answers no. “I’m not looking for a different husband either,” she said to laughs at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in October.

In fact, Alber’s 13-year tenure as Williams Sonoma CEO has outlasted many marriages. She’s now the longest-serving female chief executive in the Fortune 500.

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