Old retailer whips up new recipe.(Williams-Sonoma Inc.)(Brief Article)

San Francisco-based specialty retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. already had well-established retail and catalog operations when it launched its e-commerce division a little more than two years ago.

When Shelley Nandkeolyar stepped in as vice president of Williams-Sonoma's e-commerce division in the summer of 1999, it looked to some as though the retailer of upscale home products had arrived more than fashionably late to an online party already going full tilt. Charged with the bringing the firm's key brands online, Nandkeolyar has preferred a slow and steady approach that puts the careful positioning of the brands ahead of a break-neck race to go live.

Getting an …