Capital One has landed a credit card partnership with Williams-Sonoma, becoming the home furnishings retailer’s exclusive issuer and reaching a deal to buy its existing card portfolio.
The McLean, Virginia, company signed a long-term agreement to offer co-branded and private-label credit cards, it said Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma’s brands include Pottery Barn, West Elm and Mark & Graham.
Capital One’s deal to buy the retailer’s existing card portfolio ends a yearslong partnership between San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma and Alliance Data Systems, the parent company of Comenity Bank.
Alliance Data confirmed that the bank and retailer have ended their partnership and “have worked together to ensure a smooth transition for cardmembers.”
“Alliance Data remains committed to investing in the growth of our business by establishing or extending relationships with clients who share a mutual interest in driving business performance and success,” the Columbus, Ohio, company said.
Laura Alber, Williams-Sonoma’s president and CEO, said in a press release that the Capital One partnership will allow the retailer to “provide enhanced rewards to our cardmembers, enabling them to earn and redeem across our family of brands."
A Capital One spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment on its plans for the Williams-Sonoma partnership.
The $425 billion-asset bank plans to launch the new credit cards before the end of the year and to run them on Visa’s payments network. Existing cardholders will get more details on the transition in the coming months.
