Design Within Reach Debuts In The Big Apple; Provider of Modern Designed Furnishings Responds to Customers With Retail Studios In Manhattan.

Business Editors

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2003

Design Within Reach (DWR) will enter the New York market with its first retail Studio in Manhattan. This expansion is a response to customer demand and as part of the company's desire to provide well designed, classic and hard to find modern furnishings readily available to the public.

The Studio, located in SoHo, will be the company's tenth and joins DWR Studios in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Oakland, Portland, Pasadena, Dallas and three in the Los Angeles market. DWR also has plans for Studios in the Miami market.

The Studios complement DWR's popular web and catalog sales channels, along with its commercial business-to-business arm. Similar to the company's presence in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas, DWR will look to serve the New York City market with multiple Studios.

DWR is no stranger to design savvy New Yorkers. In fact, the SoHo Studio will provide thousands of existing customers in New York the opportunity to touch, feel and test drive the classics, as well as discover what is new in modern design.

"DWR is excited, yet humble, about expanding into New York with our Studios," said Rob Forbes, founder and chief design officer at DWR. He continued, "It is pleasing to know our customers are responsive to DWR's commitment to modern design... they actually request that we open Studios in their cities."

As mentioned, these customers include thousands of residential New Yorkers along with respected commercial clients like Escada, LVMH, MTV, Sharpelles Holden Padquarelli and Skadden-Arps, among many notable others.

Located at 142 Wooster St. (at Prince St.), the split level 3,500 sq. ft. DWR Studio will carry designs by such modern greats as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Isami Noguchi, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Achille Castiglioni, among others. Also in DWR's offering mix are products by newcomers such as Pablo Pardo, Ted Boerner and New Yorker Sandy Chilewich.

The Studio, designed by architect Alberto Rivera, will be unique in relation to the other DWR Studios as all are distinctive spaces meant to be local centers of modern design. Formerly occupied by Tardini, the space will fittingly be simple, attractive and convey the positivism that is so much a part of the principles of modern design.

Design Within Reach is headquartered in Oakland, California and was founded by Rob Forbes in 1999. The company specializes in well-designed modern furniture, lighting and accessories made available through a popular catalog, website (www.dwr.com) and retail Studios. The company's core strategy is to develop and stock products from the world's leading designers, delivering to customers within a fraction of the industry normal timeframe.

Media note - sample of New Yorkers' interest in DWR coming to their City:

"Congratulations on opening your new store (Dallas), does this mean New York is next"

-- Zekio Dawson

"Read about your store openings in LA and SF... Why not open... here in New York City? I'm designing a building here and would welcome you into the hood."

-- Michael Forham

"...Living in New York we get to see the most trendy places in home furnishings, but still your catalogue and selection is special and I think DWR would have a big reception in NYC..."

-- Inge Lemann