Williams-Sonoma will keep its Internet house in order using WebSphere

To keep up with its growing web sites, Williams-Sonoma Inc. in 2006 will roll out on a new e-commerce platform using WebSphere applications from International Business Machines Corp.

The applications will be put in place and the new e-commerce platform is expected to be launched in the first half of the new year, says Paul Miller, vice president of e-commerce for Williams-Sonoma, No. 20 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites.

Williams-Sonoma, which generated e-commerce sales of $477.5 million across multiple sites in 2004, needs a more robust e-commerce platform to keep up with its expanding sites, Miller says.

For the first six months of 2005, Williams-Sonoma posted e-commerce revenues of $326.6 million, compared with e-commerce sales of $243.6 million for the first six months of 2004.

Earlier this year Williams-Sonoma rolled out a new online catalog and order processing function for Williams-Sonoma Home and plans to add more e-commerce capability to Williams-Sonoma Home next year, Miller says.

Williams-Sonoma operates six e-commerce sites: Williams-Sonoma.com, PotteryBarn.com, PotteryBarnKids.com, PBTeen.com, WestElm.com and HoldEverything.com.