apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Perhaps they can cut their prices drastically and make them actually within reach--that might help them survive this period in which few of us are spending much on luxuries.

bummer, i was hoping they'd go out of business and have to sell everything cheap so I could get something...

perhaps a quick call or two to DWR headquarters could have saved you publishing the original post. it is irresponsible and your rumors are unprofessional and cause the rumor mill to expand exponentially.

a large, and very important -- indeed NECESSARY -- part of a downward spiralling economy is the herd mentality of failure. the more people see failure in everything the more it brings it to fruition.

you think a business is failing because everyone tells you they think it's failing, so you no longer give that company money. then many people do the same thing, and then guess what? the business fails!

I can't imagine that times aren't tough over at DWR. They cater to a customer most likely to be scared away from a big purchase during these times of financial chaos. If you were a trader that went from $5 million to $1 million, you could still afford your five figure sofa from B&B Italia (although you may opt for linen/cotton instead of leather upholstery). If you were a manager making $120,000, suddenly hitting the career reset button at a new job making $48,000, you will no longer be in the market for a $4000 sofa, cotton upholstery or otherwise.

This might be a smart time for DWR to explore creating a value line (perhaps sold only online and for a limited time) to supplement the higher priced lines they normally carry in store. It would at least keep them relevant in the current economic climate.

Actually, AT never posted that it was going out of business. People saw the "for sale" thing and ran with it and then instead of reading the post, people read the comments that started the rumer and so on.. It happens.

While I'm not a fan of their prices, I would like them to stick around.

Maybe DWR should revisit their beginnings when they knocked off and sold cheaply the furniture they now stock.

RichardinLA -

I hope that the folks at DWR see your post and make something of it - but keep those manufacturing jobs here in the US where they'll do our neighbors some good!

I'm a bit bewildered by some of the DWR hate.

Granted, they're not the cheapest game in town. However, are you really furnishing your entire home with things from DWR? Probably not. Like me there's probably that item or two that you practically gush over, and all your other stuff comes from all sorts of places. I wanted a sofa from there, because it was the best complement for a chair of pure awesome that I have. So I socked away around $15 a week. For two years. With the recent upholstery sale and free shipping, I was able to do it -- cash, after some very thorough test loafing in the showroom. I'm 27 now, but the idea when I bought the sofa is I fully intend to still be sitting/slouching/sleeping on it when I'm 72, even if it involves some work over that time to refreshen it.

If you're even more patient, what you want will end up listed on Craigslist eventually, without fail. Truly well designed things never really go out of style anyhow, so you'll probably still want it when you see it in an ad years from now. So you could play the waiting game and eventually get what you want for a fraction of the price. I'm playing that game now with an Eames Aluminum Management Chair. I *know* I don't have to ever pay for one new because Herman Miller has been pumping them out since the Pacific plate subducted under the North American plate. As long as I check Craigslist once a week I'll eventually be able to knock on someone's door, cash in hand, and then be able to figure out how on earth I'm going to get it home in a Miata.

I agree on the value stuff, but remember, without DWR, some of this stuff would be just as expensive, just more difficult to buy. And again, it'll all end up on Craigslist eventually.

I agree with bepsf. Also, even though it's unrealistic, we should all be rooting for these businesses to hang on. The herd mentality is very contagious and depressing. When we see a business work hard to reinvent itself in order to meet our needs and operate more efficiently and smarter, that's a success story. The ones that make it through will be those that are willing and able to contort, innovate and still deliver quality. I think exceptional service will help many small businesses survive.

does anyone know if retromodern in atlanta is out of business?

their telephone rings and rings...

their website says "new website coming soon"

http://www.retromodern.com/

I have to say that the DWR stores I've seen and previously patronized, and particularly the one located on Columbus at 77th Street in Manhattan, waste electricity so offensively that I've been "turned off" by them for over a year. My wife and I drove by the store on Columbus after midnight one evening and found every light in the house on, and the store window in full display. Maybe a little energy conservation would go toward reducing their overhead expenses, and make their customers feel a little differently about their brand positioning among other furniture retailers. I used to like DWR, but then they lost their luster for me, and the light thing really pissed me off.

I gave up on DWR after dropping by one of their warehouse sales and seeing an Eames lounger that looked like a T. Rex had used it as a toothpick -- really, it was practically a heap of leather and broken wood -- on!sale! for a bargain price of about $700. How special.

I would never in my wildest dreams in this economic state go online and wish for any company to go out of business nor would I wish for people to be out of work. Embarrassing.

In other news, if you can't afford it, shop somewhere else.

You can pretty much buy everything that DWR has anywhere cheaper. It's the same old, nothing different. Better service and with more choices else where. If you work for them it's a job not a career, all you are doing is pushing paper around nothing more.

Looks like Retro Modern is gone, too bad because it was run by people who care. Buy local, the money stays local not to some corporate who only wants your money.

whats up with the vitriol toward DWR.
I live near the 77th and Columbus store. I love to look in the window. I love having this shop in my neighborhood.
We are not talking jet buying corporate pigs wasting our tax dollars on undeserved bonuses with our hard earned tax dollars. This is about a lovey furniture shop. With good friendly helpful knowledgeable sales staff, selling beautiful merchandise.

Sadly I don't see too many customers in the shop anymore.

And for the poster disturbed by the store having lighting on during off hours, it's a retail store, seeing the window displays and the furniture is what sells the goods.
Plus, it helps create a safer community when shops are lit up at night when the stores are closed.

It's so sad to see what is happening to all the small retail stores along our avenues. The only way privately owned shops can stay in business is to get a bit of relief from landlords who are gouging small business owners.

I've been a Ron Forbes fan (original founder of DWR) for years and love his entrepreneurial spirit and love of design. Did you know that in the late 1970's his family bought the basically unknown and failing Emeco company in Pennsylvania? They basically saved the small company. For 20 years it limped along under the radar, not making money, and yes, keeping all of the manufacturing in America and in-house. Forbes bought the struggling company from his dad and turned it around, but not overnight. DWR, the company this guy started deserves our respect for promoting great and frequently undiscovered/emerging design that many of you would otherwise have never heard of. Even though he is no longer involved in DWR, the idea behind the company is great. Sure they don't have ikea prices, but great design isn't always cheap. Here's a link to an article that talks more about him:
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20041001/howididit.html

I have worked for many retail entities over the years. Design Within Reach being one of them. In the last few years, i worked for an e-commerce company that specialized in Modern design. However, due to the economic downturn I am now out of a job as the company decided to lay off a number of its employees.

I'd hate to see DWR go out of business. They helped foster my love affair with modern design and serve as a great resource for the public.

We should be building each other up rather than trying to tear each other down. And perhaps we should reassess our grievances with DWR.

Relax, it's furniture.

miaedu- i have heard RetroModern is dunzo, too bad, I had bought stuff from them a few years ago and was really happy with the experience.

SBMODERN- "If you work for them it's a job not a career, all you are doing is pushing paper around nothing more." i really hope that you have worked at DWR if you feel you have the right to comment on other people's careers like that. Seems pretty unfair and mean-spirited.

chairfetish- "Relax, it's furniture". AMEN!!

The CEO can say what he needs to say to keep his business from failing. The commentators will say what they think to either fuel the fire or attempt to put it out. Here is a fact: Design Within Reach Stock was at $18.00 a few years ago. It is now $.63 cents. Fact: Design Within Reach has had massive lay offs.
Also, if someone from DWR called AT to plead DWR's case, that is VERY VERY DESPERATE. If a company is doing well, theres no need to call the nay sayers.

Rob Forbes has nothing to do with Emeco, fact check. The issue is that Apartment Therapy, Design Sponge, Dwell etc. would have nothing to talk about (or any money, considering ad and sponsorship dollars contributed over the years) had DWR not come along and helped provide a design education. Or had they not created objects of aspiration for people. Furniture design has come on par with fashion and visual art as something to be admired, coveted, and lived with. That would never have been the case had DWR catalogs not provided the background and education.

ALSO, sales are down, but they're not gone. There are people in this country who are RICH and are still buying hundreds of thousands of dollars per day from DWR. Don't hate because you're not one of them.

tex. seriously? what company would not have a PR person call news outlets to correct the media's perception that they are going out of business? any company would be stupid not to contribute to the public discussion about its own future. also? the entire stock market was regularly above 12,000 and now is closing at around 7,500 - a massive depreciation. dwr is hardly alone in tanking share value. yes, some publicly-traded companies have gone under, but most have not. lastly, layoffs can be a sign a company is going under, but usually it is a sign they are downsizing in response to lowered revenue, in order to maintain the same profit margin and/or to avoid taking a financial loss. in other words, in a strictly business sense (i know on a personal level, they really suck), layoffs are usually what is needed for the survival of a company.

Jezz tex, sounds like you have some personal beef!

I have friends that used to work for them, it's a joke, no one cares. They take your money and drop ship, over. It's like beating your head against a brick wall when something goes wrong. The sales force has no power and or knowledge. {There are good people Too} I hear that they call the Eames Office asking for color options, because DWR has their own color codes so that the customer can't go to their local design shop to get the same chair.

Rich people don't buy from them, "they have people for that". It's the middle class buying from DWR, except the middle class are not buying anything right now.

I hear that they laid off 20% of their work force in corporate.

Modkitten:
It's just another retail job, nothing more. It's just not furniture, it's more personal for modern people. We buy and cherish these pieces for a very long time. Some people have had their furniture for 60 years. So very different from todays furniture buyer.

To XOXOXDesign
A personal beef? Exactly the opposite. I wish that these facts were not true. DWR is on the forefront of design and their downfalll would be a terrible blow for the whole design world. Still, facts are facts.

I also know many people who used to work for Design Within Reach. Some of these people have quit and some have been laid off. They do not have nice stories about upper management. They do not have nice stories about the state of the company. Its really sad as Design Within Reach seems so cool.

The fact is DWR doors are still open.
They are not dead yet.

Yet.

RIP:
Full Upright Position (FUP)
Retromodern
Magazine.....................

Still hoping they go under here.

The CEO says they have reduced their expenses and stepped up their promotional activity. Um, how about lowering their prices? I've always found their name insulting. It's not within the reach of anyone I know.

texjamma: "DWR is on the forefront of design." They have no idea what is good design or bad, they are a retail corporate. They max profit by selling, everyone knows that the big book chains sell the most in favor books, They don't stock the unknown authors, the independent book stores do that. The local bookstore is going to find the next great book not the chains.

How many times can you sell a Mid century modern piece. You can get that any where, and for a better price. They don't sell good design, they sell big profit. They were not profitable in a good economy, they are not going to be around in this economy.

To all your ridiculous people out there.

Why would you mess with people's lively hood?

I work for DWR and I find a lot of your comments offensive.

Get a life.