dwell ( retailer )
furniture retailer dwell has secured £5m in private equity investment from key capital partners to aid expansion plans .
how frequently should a retailer introduce new product? like most, dwell, a retailer defined by its affordable, design - led furniture and off - the ...
dwell, the upmarket furniture retailer, is close to collapsing into administration, putting 350 jobs at risk .
dwell, the furniture retailer, is opening its first new stores since its collapse into administration two years ago .
sofa giant dfs has acquired furniture retailer dwell in full to attract “younger, more urban customers” who it hasn’t traditionally targeted .
furniture retailer dwell has collapsed after attempts to sell it failed, putting about 300 jobs at risk, including in yorkshire .
aamir ahmad, founder of collapsing furniture retailer dwell, has finalised a deal to save the mid - market contemporary furniture business .
dfs is the uk’s second largest furniture retailer behind ikea with over 100 stores nationwide .
it caps a strong year for the retailer which has seen it expand under difficult circumstances by taking over smaller rivals such as sofa workshop and dwell .
uk furniture retailer dwell has become the latest high - street design brand to go into administration, ceasing trading with immediate effect and closing all 23 of its stores .
in 2009, furniture news interviewed the founder of dwell, aamir ahmad. as the retailer' s demise was announced today, we revisit that story to ...
if the retailer does fall into administration, dwell will follow a string of other retailers that have collapsed over the last 12 months, including hmv, jessops, blockbuster and comet .
dwell is the latest casualty in the battered retail sector, which has this year seen firms including entertainment group hmv, bed retailer dreams and youth fashion chain republic plunge into administration .
other key capabilities provided to the retailer included footfall, dwell time and conversion metrics in separate areas within the store (including fitting rooms and tills), number of unique visitors and visit frequency trends .
in a statement on wednesday, dwell said it was still open for business .
collapsed uk furniture retailer dwell is to reopen five of its 23 stores following a deal with the company' s original founder - but furious customers of the old company are claiming their orders will not be honoured .
dwell’s approach to product, presentation and service earned it many fans, and by the end of 2010, bolstered by a £5m investment from key capital partners for a 30% stake in the company, the retailer’s store portfolio had grown to 24 plus one concession. dwell’s high ambitions were steadily being realised .
last august, dfs bought out the rest of dwell’s brand and assets in a move to attract younger and more urban customers, although dwell continues to be run as a standalone subsidiary .
manufacturer? publish your products to reach retailers across the world. retailer? sign up for the newsletter with the latest news, features and products .
but the upmarket retailer, majority - owned by private equity firm key capital partners, has struggled amid sluggish consumer confidence and a weak housing market .
these insights gave the fashion retailer a fresh look into the stores’ performance and a way to identify the best practices and improvements points on the store attractiveness .
dwell, the furniture retailer, has been saved from disappearing off british high streets thanks to its founder aamir ahmad returning to lead the company. ahmad’s plan will save over 150 jobs and keep the business operating from at least five stores and the web .
“dwell continues to trade as usual and fulfil customer orders. the business has not appointed administrators. ”
in 2011, furniture retailer habitat was forced to place 30 of its stores into administration. it managed to retain three stores in the uk and set up outlets in branches of diy retailer homebase in a move that was criticised by elle decoration editor michelle ogundehin, who claimed habitat was
as good as dead
.
retailer design within reach helped create a new appreciation for the modernist aesthetic. with design more mainstream than ever, why is the company in such dire straits ?
the upmarket retailer said it had ceased trading and closed its 23 stores and one concession, while asking staff to stay at home, as it prepares to appoint administrators .
dwell is reported to be close to appointing duff & phelps as administrator and its website has been taken offline .
the 23 - store retailer filed a notice of intention last week to appoint the advisory firm duff & phelps as administrator, with a formal announcement expected over the coming days .
dwell hired argyll partners last month to look at options including a sale. however, no buyer has so far been found
dwell’s fate was sealed by dire sales of big - ticket items and a recent cash - flow crisis. it had been working with advisers at argyll partners to find a white knight and to secure fresh working capital but interested parties walked away. a dwell spokesman said: “as a result we have been left with no option but to close the business with immediate effect. ” the retailer said those customers who have bought products from dwell and have outstanding orders should contact their card issuer, which means that some non - credit card shoppers could lose out .
dwell, which specialises in contemporary furniture, lighting and accessories, opened its first store in balham, south london in 2003 .
check out some of our favorite items in the “ modern by dwell magazine ” collection below, and head to target for more .
dwell’s pre - tax losses widened to £675, 320 over the year to 27 january 2012, according to its latest accounts. the chain was originally founded as a mail - order furniture business by aamir ahmad, who stepped down as managing director in november after a refinancing. dwell’s chairman neil mccausland also left last year. the private equity firm key capital partners invested £5m in dwell in august 2010 .
ahmad advised customers with outstanding orders to check the company’s social media platforms for advice. however dwell' s twitter account said :
please note we are no longer dwell retail ltd. previous orders will not be fulfilled, as we are now a new company .
dwell is a design and technology brand that is connecting the modern world. founded in 2000, dwell’s mission is to bridge the gap between design professionals and enthusiasts, and it reaches the worldwide design community through its print publication, digital platform, live events and products .
the retailer is now opening two new shops in former dfs warehouses, the first in an out - of - town shopping centre in glasgow later this month and the second in september in new malden, surrey .
in an opposing move though, online homeware retailer urltoken opened a physical showroom in london last year, with ceo and founder ning li saying that a physical space was a good way to supplement the online shopping experience .
the massive retailer teamed up in december with dwell magazine to launch a collection that gives the likes of west elm, ikea and crate and barrel a run for their money. on - trend copper serving pieces sit alongside modern bar trolleys and cool accent pillows. bright blue bookshelves are offered with dining chairs, natural wood coffee tables, and even outdoor furniture .
gant is using music to encourage consumers to stay shopping for longer in store. the fashion retailer reported customers now stay in store on average nine minutes longer following the deployment of a new music platform from soundtrack your brand .
with the new methods provided by walkbase, the fashion retailer was able to assess the overall potential and the current performance of their stores in different settings. they have also started to utilise the best practices from the well performing stores, which are already partially adapted across their estate. the retailer has continued to gather up store data and is currently in the process of planning the systematic improvements in the selected stores. they are also considering to change the location of some stores to more favourable ones and are investigating the financial side of the potential move. the retailer estimates that the improvements they have started implementing based on this assessment alone are already bringing significant benefits to the overall business .
from saturday 6th july, dwell will reopen their stores in tottenham court road, westfield white city, westfield stratford, barton square in manchester and lakeside in thurrock. talks with other landlords are underway with a hope that additional stores and jobs can be saved. dwell’s online store (www. dwell. co. uk) will also reopen on thursday. advice to customers who have outstanding orders will be available on the company’s social media platforms .
dwell warned :
the current economic environment is uncertain, consumer confidence is low and trading conditions are challenging within the declining household and furniture sector .
dfs, one of the uk’s leading retailers of upholstered furniture, is pleased to announce that coin furniture limited, trading as dwell, the ...
dwell, which ceased trading on 20 june 2013 with the loss of 300 jobs, held an estimated £1 million of customer deposits when it went into administration .
aamir’s focus was always the product – progressive and fashion - led, dwell’s offering evolved almost monthly, and was deployed to generate as much excitement as possible .
the dwell boss said that the two new stores were being run as a trial with the view of opening a third standalone shop before the end of the year .
upmarket furniture chain dwell today closed all its stores and ceased trading both on the high street and online with immediate effect, with the potential loss of 300 jobs .
mr ahmad spent the next year re - hiring 150 staff and turning the stores and dwell’s online business back to profitability before signing a marketing agreement with furniture giant dfs .
“we’ve long admired target for how they embrace good design and cultivate unique partnerships, so we’re thrilled to work together on introducing this new collection, ” said chris deam and nick dine, co - creative directors of product design, dwell. “with modern by dwell magazine, we’re excited to introduce modern design to more people than ever. ”
dwell announced on wednesday that aamir ahmad, who founded the brand in 2003 but left in november 2012, had agreed a deal to rescue the company and save 150 jobs .
the dramatic turnaround soon after took many by surprise. despite significant investment, within seven months of key capital partners taking charge of dwell, the company ceased trading on 20th june, 2013. a lack of working capital was cited as the reason for dwell’s collapse – its stores were closed, its staff let go, and a mass of orders left outstanding .
the accounts show that dwell, which is owned by key capital partners, had net debt of £6. 1m but £11. 7m of debt due for repayment during the next 12 months .
dwell started trading from a single store in balham, south london, in 2003 and expanded in the south of england. in recent years it has opened stores in birmingham, manchester and glasgow .
the operator of dwell' s twitter account appeared to feel sympathy for customers' plight, writing :
f * * * ing snakes indeed. i didn' t get paid by them either .
aamir ahmad, who started dwell in 2003 and sold out of the company in 2012, reopened stores in tottenham court road, westfield london, westfield stratford city, barton square in manchester and glasgow town centre .
dwell' s staff have been asked to stay at home while administrators are appointed. the company' s website has been taken offline and customers who have already placed orders have been advised to contact their card issuer .
one thing our guests love about shopping at target is that there’s newness around every corner. and this winter will be no exception. enter modern by dwell magazine, a new collection in home that we just announced .
to help the retailer answer these questions, walkbase solution was installed in multiple stores. the stores were selected in such a way that there were different surroundings and the level of assumed potential, but also so that for each of these contexts, there were multiple stores that could be benchmarked. with proper calibrations, our wifi sensors were able to distinguish both store visits as well as the outside potential, i. e. the amount of people walking in front of a store within any given timeframe. the ability of walkbase to assess outside potential and conversion to store visits from that (i. e. “capture rate”), gave the retailer a valuable new insight into the store performance .
dwell reopened its online store this week and will reopen five high - street stores from saturday 6 july at tottenham court road, westfield london, westfield stratford city, lakeside shopping centre in essex, and barton square in manchester .
i first interviewed aamir ahmad in the summer of 2009. then a 19 - store business, buoyed by well - established online activity, dwell had become one of the uk’s most popular contemporary brands among young, aspirational shoppers .
the modern by dwell magazine collection features more than 120 items, including furniture, décor, tabletop and home accessories separated into indoor and outdoor collections. get ready for copper bar tools, terracotta planters, sleek patio sofas and more !
founded by aamir ahmad, sean galligan and dave garrett, dwell began trading with a single store in balham in 2003. it grew across london, with stores in balham, islington, kingston, richmond, tottenham court road and westfield .
understanding how their stores were currently performing and whether there were any potential new angles (kpis) for assessing store performance in a unified way, were one of the key priorities for the retailer. the fact that stores are strongly affected by their surroundings (or “context”) had been a particular problem in assessing performance fairly across the stores, especially in terms of their attractiveness .
he added :
although we are not legally obliged to, we are doing everything we can to find a solution for customers who have lost out. our primary goal is to help customer and suppliers regain their trust in the dwell brand. ”
in november 2012 the founders left the business and a new management team was installed by key capital partners. on 20 june 2013, dwell retail announced that they had ceased trading with immediate effect, and all 24 stores plus the concession outlet were closed .
it’s been a turbulent couple of years for dwell. from departing principals, to entering administration, to the return of those principals and the purchase of the brand by dfs, furniture news’ paul farley tracks the trajectory of one of the uk’s trendiest furniture retailers
yet this was just the beginning of aamir’s task – with the brand’s reputation with suppliers and customers alike brought low by the recent events, it was up to the newly re - installed team to win hearts and minds, and restore dwell’s good name .
this will make dwell, which opened its first store in balham in 2003, the latest high street casualty this year. this follows the demise of hmv, blockbuster, jessops and republic, although all four have emerged out of administration under different owners with significantly fewer stores .
recent developments indicate that he’s been successful. following the announcement of a brand partnership with dfs back in february this year, the upholstery retail giant fully acquired coin furniture ltd (t / a dwell), in august, making it a fully - owned subsidiary of dfs furniture group .
the company said: “the business had been working with its advisers to secure further working capital for the business and was actively in the process of talking to a number of interested parties who saw the value of the dwell brand and product, its customer base and its multi - channel proposition .
the business has been working with its advisers, including argyll partners and duff & phelps, to secure further working capital for the business and is currently talking to a number of interested parties who see the value of the dwell brand and product, its customer base and its multi - channel proposition ,
the company said .
ahmad founded dwell with his family and friends in 2003 and successfully grew it over 9 years, but along with his co - founders was replaced in november last year. he will be stepping back in to run the business as ceo. ahmad comments: “our priority lies with the customers and suppliers who have been let down by the former management. we are working hard to try and resolve the issues, in particular outstanding customer orders. although we are not legally obliged to, we are doing everything we can to find a solution for customers who have lost out. our primary goal is to help customer and suppliers regain their trust in the dwell brand .
once upon a time, way back in the 1990s, america was a land of design philistines. dwell and domino didn’t exist. on tv, people didn’t trade spaces, nor did straight guys have queer eyes to help them remake their post - frat - boy apartments. many of us still thought ray eames was a man .
the only signal of any change in direction came in november 2012, when the company’s founders and core management team – aamir, sean galligan and david garrett – departed, aamir commenting: “dwell has achieved much over the last two years despite the difficult market conditions, and i am convinced that the brand is well placed for continued growth. ”
making modern design more approachable, accessible and affordable to our guests than ever before, modern by dwell magazine will be available at select target stores and on urltoken beginning dec. 27. prices will range from $ 49. 99 to $ 399. 99 for furniture and $ 16. 99 to $ 99. 99 for décor, tabletop and accessories .
a spokesperson for dwell said :
the business had been working with its advisers, to secure further working capital for the business and was actively in the process of talking to a number of interested parties. however, despite this interest, it did not progress. as a result we have been left with no option but to close the business with immediate effect .
dwell has stores at lakeside retail park in essex, tottenham court road in london, manchester’s trafford centre, glasgow, balham, bimingham’s fort dunlop and bullring shopping centres, bluewater in kent, bristol, cardiff, cheltenham, guildford, kingston, leeds, manchester, milton keynes town centre and retail park, nottingham, reading, richmond, solihull and westfield shopping centres in west and east london .
“we spend a lot of time getting to know our guests, even spending time with them in their own homes, ” said mark tritton, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at target. “many of our guests have told us they want to add a modern aesthetic into their environment, but they want it to be easy and, just as important, affordable. that’s a challenge we were happy to accept. with our friends at dwell magazine, we’ve created a line that captures modernism beautifully. the collection is a great complement to our current assortment – it’s stylish, high quality and the prices are great. i know our guests are going to love it. ”
for inquiries related to this message please contact support. for sales inquiries, please visit urltoken
if you believe this to be in error, please confirm below that you are not a robot by clicking
i' m not a robot
below .
please make sure your browser supports javascript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. for more information you can review the terms of service and cookie policy .
this site uses cookies. by continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. learn more and read our policy .
our a - z of retail companies listed by company name. browse for news and analysis .
retail week is the most trusted source of business intelligence for the retail industry. subscribe now to enjoy :
please note, if you have recently purchased a subscription, it may take a few minutes before your account is updated .
gain a global perspective on the us and go beyond with curated news and analysis from 600 journalists in 50 + countries covering politics, business, innovation, trends and more .
markets data delayed by at least 15 minutes. © the financial times ltd 2018. ft and ‘financial times’ are trademarks of the financial times ltd. the financial times and its journalism are subject to a self - regulation regime under the ft editorial code of practice .
looking to update your home? we have stores across the country so you will find contemporary interior inspiration around every corner. our stores have a great selection of our bestselling collections covering all areas of the home. if you’re looking for a new sofa, you’ll find all our fabric swatches in - store allowing you to pick out the right design. in addition you can also take advantage of our complimentary click & collect service in all stores .
registered office: the pavilion, 118 southwark street, london se1 0sw. company number: 8586227. vat registration number: 165 0057 30 .
check out one of the coolest collections of dining tables around. our dining table range comes in a variety of shapes such as square, round, oval or rectangular and come in all sizes in large, medium, small and are suitable for all occasion
s. for those with limited space but big family events to cater for, we have single sided as well as double sided extending dining tables available in glass, rich wood veneers, smart high gloss or trendy matt finish in a variety of colours. whether you’re looking for something practical and space saving or something just as a style statement our collection of dining tables will offer you a solution .
tv units used to be just the table that the tv dominated with its bulky size. now they are a stand - alone stylish statement piece sitting proudly beneath your wall mounted tv, hosting the numerous set top boxes we all accumulate and offeri
ng a much needed storage solution. our great range of tv units are available in a wide variety of materials such as high gloss, wood veneers or a combination of gloss and glass and in a wide variety of styles from high tech to slightly retro. choose one that meets your needs - so if you need cupboards and or drawers with or without cable management, large or small we know we have something that more than adequately fit the bill and your pocket !
the workhorse of any lounge is the coffee table. the sofa naturally dominates due to its size, the tv demands all the attention but, the coffee table is where you and your well - deserved glass of wine rest in the evening. it’s sometimes a f
ootstool, it holds the magazine you’ve yet to read and now with our range of stylish cool coffee tables it can do even more. our range offers coffee tables that convert with ease into dining tables, are height adjustable to allow use as work surface or rotate and extend to offer you extra surface space. when needed or have handy drawers offering valuable extra storage space. our contemporary range of coffee tables are available in a wide range of materials from solid marble to tempered glass, to smart high gloss in various stylish colours to warm wood veneers. so if you’re looking for a hero... .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1. 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
the business, which used to have 23 stores primarily in london and the south east, was left with just five after it was rescued by its founder .
the repurposing of dfs warehouses comes as the recently floated company adapts its warehouses and distribution centres to make more efficient online deliveries .
however, mr ahmad believes there still needs to be a mix of online and in - store shopping .
“furniture retail needs each channel to play its own part – customers like to come in and touch and feel sofas but they might place their orders online or through the catalogue, ” he said .
online shopping accounts for 30pc of sales, catalogues for 20pc while customers visiting bricks and mortar shops still accounts for half of the group’s sales, mr ahmad said .
the company' s facebook page has been flooded with comments by customers saying they have lost money .
i phoned up this am only to be told that the order i placed on 25th may is null and void ,
wrote mags mckie .
£500 worth of orders deleted from my account ,
commented susan lowe barrie .
i was waiting for 4 chairs to be delivered ,
said margaret jones in another facebook comment .
phoned customer services today and was told would def not get the order now and should contact bank to claim back payment. was told i could reorder from new company as chairs were in stock .
he said in a statement :
our priority lies with the customers and suppliers who have been let down by the former management. we are working hard to try and resolve the issues, in particular outstanding customer orders .
customers reacted angrily to the tweet .
i' ve just been told by customer services that they' re not honouring deliveries, but i can buy from the new company !
said andrew lansdell on twitter yesterday .
i' m only a customer and am £857 short, what are you going to do about that ?
asked another customer .
neri & hu;' s atmospheric valextra store is based upon the ...
dezeen daily is sent every day and contains all the latest stories from dezeen .
dezeen weekly is a curated newsletter that is sent every thursday, containing highlights from dezeen. dezeen weekly subscribers will also receive occasional updates about events, competitions and breaking news .
we will only use your email address to send you the newsletters you have requested. we will never give your details to anyone else without your consent. you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email, or by emailing us at privacy @ urltoken .
you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of every newsletter .
of the 23 existing stores, the majority are located in london and the south east of england, with others in birmingham, manchester, bristol, cardiff, leeds, nottingham, solihull, cheltenham and glasgow. it operates a concession at the house of fraser department store in london, which has also closed. the announcement means that around 300 jobs are at risk .
in a movie filmed at last year' s clerkenwell design week, producer thorsten van elten told dezeen that online shopping is a
better model
because
the rents and rates on the high street are outrageous ,
but added that people still love physical stores .
in 2010, the company received £5m in funding from key capital partners. the company announced plans to expand to 60 stores and 20 concessions across the uk within five years, and opened a flagship store on tottenham court road. by the end of 2010 the company had 24 stores, including a concession in house of fraser, and had locations across uk including birmingham, cardiff, manchester and glasgow .
our flex - in magazines are packed with entertaining features and articles. they are relevant, topical, well written and beautifully designed. our community pages showcase local events, music and families days and news to know. they connect communities !
if you run a business, talk to us about our flexible, highly effective advertising packages .
relief came from an unexpected quarter in the form of aamir and his original team who, just two weeks later, finalised a deal to save the brand, five stores and 150 jobs .
to read this interview, register for free to access the online magazine (october issue) here .
furniture news is a leading publication for the interiors sector featuring coverage of the latest furniture designers and the furnishings trade in the uk and overseas .
this dfs corporate website uses cookies. by continuing to browse you are agreeing to our use of cookies .
dfs furniture company plc is floated on the london stock exchange with a market capitalisation of c. £270million, trading from 21 stores
in june 2010, this article won the deadline club award for business feature writing. the judges commended writer jeff chu for demonstrating, “a great nose for news along with persistence and dogged analysis. he exhibited the highest standards of journalism by identifying his subject and convincing key players to reveal hidden facts. ”
the wigan garden spade is a thing of verdant beauty. its hunter - green steel and sunny ash - wood handle evoke the pastoral fantasias of an aspiring gentleman farmer — a dwarf maple in your yard, perhaps, around the base of which you can, with wigan in hand and wellies on feet, conquer weeds and plant petunias. it’s got history too: smithies have been handcrafting tools at the same lancashire forge since king george iii sat madly on england’s throne. thanks to design within reach, it can be yours for the queenly sum of $ 95 .
or it could be mine: i now want one, and i don’t have a yard or even a potted plant. it’s that combination of storytelling and compelling design that has propelled dwr from a web - and - catalog - only startup 10 years ago into a major nationwide home - furnishings brand today .
according to the genesis story of design within reach, it wasn’t really the people’s fault. we just didn’t know. the finer things in life, which the enlightened residents of europe had come to appreciate over decades of danish - designed, italian - made existence, weren’t available to most of us. they were cloistered in showrooms open exclusively “to the trade”; only interior designers could give us the golden keys .
along came a san francisco - based revolutionary named rob forbes. he decided to seize those keys and share them with all of us … who had the money. (the name design within reach was never meant to suggest that we’d all be able to afford the lovely things .) in 1999, he launched a low - overhead business featuring an online store, an email newsletter, and a direct - mail catalog. these were more than just sales tools — they were the three main components of a nationwide introductory course in modernist design. he and his company became educators and tastemakers .
the branding was genius and so was the timing. americans were ready to trade up in all aspects of their lives — from their takeout coffee to their homes to the furnishings inside. dwr rode this wave of consumer spending, splashing onto the stock market in july 2004. after its first day, the market valued the company at $ 211 million, an optimistic 70 times its 2003 net earnings .
before his ouster, brunner had painted the company’s current woes purely as a product of the economy. but while dwr’s sales did plunge by a quarter in september 2008, this isn’t a story about the recession or even a simple corporate parable about overlarge appetites. the truth that has emerged from months of conversations with company insiders, former employees, design collaborators past and present, and founder rob forbes — in his first public comments since breaking his ties with the firm in 2007 — is that dwr has been a victim of its own unintelligent design. it veered from one ill - advised strategy to another, ranging from a craven knockoff program to a baroque pursuit of brand extensions, including an accessories boutique called tools for living, where you can buy that wigan spade .
“we want to make dwr great again, ” krevlin says. “we’re doing everything we can. ” for a guide of what not to do, he only has to look back at the company’s recent history. given the depth of its woes, the tool for living that design within reach’s new leadership could really use most is one that it doesn’t yet stock: a huge shovel .
rob forbes loves creation stories. on a blustery late - summer afternoon in san francisco, we’re still warming up in a cozy soma bar when he learns that gin is my drink of choice. he launches into a spiel about a local distillery called no. 209. “you can smell the spices, the juniper, ” he says, and insists that i just have to see its “amazing” and “beautiful” stills. i settle for the next - best thing: i order a no. 209 and tonic .
the company that forbes built was as much about selling stories as it was about shilling furniture. to you or me, a jens risom lounge chair ($ 770) might be a convenient, even attractive arrangement of wood and fabric; to forbes, it’s the tale of one man’s inspiration, written in maple and cotton webbing. in the first dwr catalog — 239, 984 copies were sent out in july 1999 — “for every chair, there was the biography connecting the person with the product, ” forbes says. “from the beginning, our brand equity was the sum total of the people behind it. ”
dwr tapped a wellspring of desire that most people didn’t even know existed. “it woke up the american market to high design, ” says shane reilly, ceo of decorati, one of the many online design resources that have popped up in recent years. “it paved the way. ” while provenance is ubiquitous today — we want to know the names of our chefs, our farmers, our font designers — potential investors questioned forbes’s business model 10 years ago. “the vcs told me it wasn’t going to work because americans were interested in cheap, cheap, cheap, ” he says. “your only choices at the time were pottery barn — fashion furniture, seasonal products, and lifestyle — and crate and barrel, which had a minimal, mediocre furniture selection. good design wasn’t really available. ”
even when a piece was available, you might wait months for it — under the old model, a sofa wasn’t shipped or even built until you ordered it. one of dwr’s original taglines was “in stock and ready to ship”; you could be sitting on that new piece in two days if you lived in san francisco, six days on the east coast. “we played on the desire for immediate gratification, ” forbes explains. “if you really love something, you’d rather have it sooner than later. ” this inventory - heavy model wasn’t cheap, but by focusing on web and catalog sales, the company kept costs manageable .
it worked. dwr boosted sales of modern classics by giants from eero saarinen (60 - inch marble pedestal table, $ 6, 683) to charles and ray eames (eames lounge chair and ottoman, $ 3, 049 to $ 4, 799). it rapidly grew the market for european brands previously accessible only to the kinds of folks who jetted to milan for the furniture fair. and it brought unexpected success to newer american designers who created original pieces for dwr, including jeffrey bernett (flight recliner, $ 2, 800) and ted boerner (theater sofa, $ 3, 880). “to their greatest credit, they’ve really honored designers, ” boerner says. “it’s largely thanks to them that i became a name. ”
even as the economy dipped into recession in 2001 and dwr’s dotcom - era peers died off, the company grew. thanks to its well - designed magazine - like catalogs — forbes hired the new york firm pentagram to create the dwr logo — and forbes’s accompanying email newsletter, “design notes, ” the company won a following even among those who could not yet afford most of its offerings, and acquired the nickname design not quite within reach, a moniker more affectionate than arch .
but after forbes stepped back from day - to - day management in 2001 and was replaced as ceo by former eddie bauer chief wayne badovinus, dwr began to chase growth in the run - up to an ipo. it added stores, which it calls “studios, ” rapidly — from just one in early 2002 to 63 in 2006 — nearly all in high - rent districts in major cities. “we got cocky, silly, fat, ” says ousted ceo brunner, who as dwr’s real - estate chief oversaw the logistics of expansion. “when we went public, the feeling was that we could have a 250 - store business in 10 years. i don’t think there are 250 dwr stores unless you water down and become pottery barn modern. ”
in the spring of 2006, the board replaced tara poseley, a former gap exec who had succeeded badovinus but lasted only seven months, with brunner, who had retired just two months before. a no - nonsense coal - miner’s son — as a child, he says, “i was so fussy my dad thought i was gay” — he speaks bluntly and confidently, frequently alluding to things that obviously smart people allude to, including gnosticism, philip johnson, and maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. (a mensa plaque sat behind his desk .) with a textbook poker face atop a portly body, he has the look and the presence of a dad that you never want to disappoint (or else), and his self - assurance seemed perfect for a company in search of a compass. “his message was right: we were on course and we were chugging ahead, ” says one ex - dwr staffer .
his honeymoon lasted perhaps six months. forbes, who had wanted to depart sooner but remained on the board to provide continuity, says that dwr quickly became “the ray show. ” brunner unleashed a flurry of moves to restructure the company. he ditched dwr’s in - stock - and - ready - to - ship strategy. he ignored some board members’ entreaties to close underperforming studios and even intensified his focus on the stores at the expense of the web site, whose production was outsourced. worried about the strengthening euro, he deemphasized the newer european design that forbes favored, putting a much greater emphasis on better - known but lower - margin classic designs by modernist greats like the eameses. he added pieces inspired by his own likes, including a club chair that the company named the “ray, ” based on one that brunner saw in a parisian flea market .
the company’s finances seemed to improve: 2007 resulted in a revenue peak of $ 194 million and a small profit, and brunner says dwr was showing considerable year - over - year financial progress in 2008 — until the economic collapse in the third quarter. “we got hit literally overnight, ” he says. sales from the third quarter of 2008 onward have consistently been about 30% below what they were in previous years .
but dwr’s financial reports before the crash reveal that the company was hardly in robust condition. in the second quarter of 2008, dwr’s same - store sales declined 3. 2% and the company posted a net loss of $ 159, 000, an improvement from a $ 575, 000 deficit in the same quarter of 2007 — but only because dwr recorded a tax benefit of $ 541, 000 from the previous year’s loss. sales through urltoken fell 3. 3% in 2007, and in the first half of 2008, they sank 12. 3% compared to the first half of 2007 .
as these challenges accumulated, brunner slowly transformed design within reach. it became a company that looked less and less like the bold startup that revolutionized the design sector and more and more like the plodding retailers — eddie bauer, gap — where he’d spent so much of his career .
the original design within reach studio sits on san francisco’s tree - lined jackson street, in the shadow of the transamerica pyramid. dwr always tried to put its stores in notable buildings; this one lives in an elegant, three - story former liquor warehouse that made it through the earthquake and fire of 1906. the building’s survival inspired local editor and wit charles field to write, “if, as they say, god spanked the town for being over frisky / why did he burn the churches down and save hotaling’s whiskey? ”
step through the doors — which still bear dwr’s old tagline, “the source for fully licensed classics” — and the first piece of furniture you’ll see is the dover credenza, a nearly 7 - foot - long american - made piece distinguished by the louvers on its doors. available in veneers of ebony - stained oak or walnut, the credenza costs $ 4, 000. what the saleswoman can tell you, if you know to ask, is that until last year, dwr carried an extraordinarily similar credenza — in form, function, and price — called the sussex. the dover “is a replacement, ” she says. “it’s the same, except sturdier. ”
around the corner from the dover, there’s a wall with a montage of portraits of designers who have worked with dwr; one of them is terence woodgate, the briton who created the sussex. in september 2008, he got a call from the sussex’s manufacturer, the spanish company punt mobles, which had just received a letter from dwr canceling a large order. design within reach had swapped it for the dover, telling punt mobles, “they could not justify the carbon costs of importing from europe, ” woodgate recalls. and because the dover differs slightly from the sussex — its legs, for instance, are slightly thicker and made of aluminum, not steel — “they also said it was not a copy. ”
“but it is, ” woodgate insists. “they’re clutching at straws to justify plagiarizing a design. ” dwr’s web site credits the dover to dwr design studio, a fact that infuriates woodgate. “i remember the exact moment i came up with this design, ” he says. “i saw this fisherman’s hut that was covered in clapboard — only the door wasn’t. i thought, what if the door had clapboard on it as well? that was the inspiration. i wonder if they remember their moment of inspiration. ”
the replication of the sussex is startling for two reasons. first, the original had long been a dwr star. the company had included it in every single annual report since going public as an example of dwr’s “design exclusives” — products not available anywhere else in the united states that the company believed to be “future design icons. ”
second, brunner has been a vocal defender of design integrity. two years ago, when the manufacturer emeco won trademark protection for its iconic 1006 navy aluminum chair, which dwr stocks ($ 415), he hailed the decision in a public statement. “if the creative minds of today and tomorrow do not believe they can protect their ideas and the benefits that provides, they may stop having them, ” he wrote. “intellectual property is perhaps the single greatest asset humankind has — it needs to be nurtured and protected. ”
yet in early 2007, say three former dwr employees, the company began systematically copying popular pieces such as the sussex. “the board was screaming for margins to improve, and this was seen as a quick route to do it, ” says one, who requested anonymity to avoid breaching a nondisclosure / nondisparagement agreement signed upon departure from dwr. “there was a running list of the top - selling products, and we scoured that to see if we could source it elsewhere. there was no way they’d touch the classics because there was so much talk of authenticity. ”
dwr focused mostly on popular european - made pieces created by designers well known within industry circles but less so among the general public. board member peter lynch, a charmingly effusive retail executive with little design experience — “dwr has converted me and educated me, ” he says — gushes that “we’re getting a lot smarter about how we source product. ” midway through an interview in dwr’s upper east side studio in manhattan, he pulled me over to a sectional sofa called the albert ($ 5, 700) and told me to sit. “isn’t it terrific? this used to be called the albero, but it’s basically the same sofa. my brother has one, ” he says proudly. “it used to be made in italy. now it’s made in america, from american leather. bison! ” (“it’s not bison, ” says a dwr spokeswoman. “it’s just called that. it’s really cow. ” )
at least a dozen of the company’s current offerings are essentially unauthorized reproductions of a foreign design. “rather than saying, ‘let’s come up with something better to replace it, ’ they said, ‘let’s come up with something similar to what people liked, ’ ” says a former dwr employee. french designer christophe pillet, who didn’t know that dwr was copying his tripod lamp until fast company directed him to the company’s online catalog, says: “they are pirates and thieves, like the chinese — except even the chinese are calling me now to ask me to make something original for them. ”
brunner saw dwr’s strategy as “completely legal. we’re not doing anything wrong. ” in every case, he said, dwr’s product - development team improved on the original design. in most instances, the tweaks were small and not obviously better. take pillet’s tripod lamp. “we were inspired by it, ” says vp of marketing chris hope. dwr’s version (also called the tripod) “diffuses light differently. we changed some of the mechanics. ”
the strategy is a disappointing echo of a controversial decision forbes made shortly after design within reach’s birth. he couldn’t get permission from knoll to sell mies van der rohe’s barcelona chair, and so dwr did an “inspired by” piece, to the original specs, called the pavilion. forbes emphasizes that dwr never tried to pass the pavilion off as the mies original, but still squirms and stutters over the decision to sell it. “i didn’t feel that good about it…. it bugged me … because … as a designer …” he trails off and finally continues. “yes, it’s legal to sell those things, but it’s how you go about doing it. we all have our instincts about what you can live with. some people are happy with breast implants and some aren’t. ” knoll finally allowed dwr to sell the barcelona chair in 2005.
dwell is a retailer of furniture in the united kingdom . the company was originally established in 2002 as dwell retail ltd. , and opened its first store in london the following year . after falling into administration , it was re-established in july 2013 . the company was acquired by british retail group dfs in august 2014 . 
dwell is a retailer of furniture in the united kingdom. the company was originally established in 2002 as dwell retail ltd., and opened its first store in london the following year. after falling into administration, it was re-established in july 2013. the company was acquired by british retail group dfs in august 2014.
dwell is a retailer of furniture in the united kingdom. the company was originally established in 2002 as dwell retail ltd., and opened its first store in london the following year. after falling into administration, it was re-established in july 2013. the company was acquired by british retail group dfs in august 2014.