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Design Within Reach will have their doors open for the final time on Sunday, September 12th at Easton Town Center. The store, which opened five years ago, will have their merchandise marked down to 40% or more off during their final week. Any merchandise left over afterward will return to their warehouse. According to a store employee contacted over the phone today, the poor economy was cited as the main reason for the closing of this location.
More information can be found at www.dwr.com.
NO! :( :( :(
Can’t say I’m going to cry over this….that store was just overpriced, “designer” furniture.
no major loss. I hope they get something new in there other than a shoe store though.
Within whose reach? Really expensive modern furniture is rarely a good value.
i think it is a little dishonest if they blame the local economy for closing this location. it has been well discussed that the parent company is facing some difficult financial problems and is having to retrench after a massive expansion and angering some designers (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/garden/31dwr.html?pagewanted=all). Columbus wasn’t the first retail outlet to close (Cleveland’s was shuttered months ago) and will not be the last.
their format had to make it hard on the retail stores to justify themselves. they had very little inventory, and were mostly showrooms. if you saw a piece you liked in store, but then later ordered online or via catalog, the local storefront received no credit for the sale. and unlike other furniture stores like a Crate and Barrel, they did not have the inventory of housewares, dishes, bathmats, etc… to sell on site and churn a daily business.
this summer I ordered an Eames LCW chair, and on a whim called the store and asked it it helped to order it through them. it did. they were incredibly prompt and very grateful, including sending a hand written thank you note. but my budget might allow for another like purchase in 2-3 years, which isn’t going to float that store. and well, it’s all available online.
@Joev, I think designer furniture is no different than “designer” anything. Stores like H&M, Urban Outfitters, Forever 21 and Ikea, West Elm, CB2 could not exist without Jinny, Tigertree, Milk Bar or Design Within Reach, Roche Bobios, etc. The less expensive stores are cutting and pasting from the real thing. H&M can sell a 30 dollar button up because they copped the design from a brand like Ben Sherman and used cheaper fabric to make it. I am not arguing against that market’s right to exist. I could actually argue that it supports the authentic market.
@Tigertree – I’m more arguing that really expensive modern furniture usually turns out to be a bad investment – it gets dated relatively quickly – and more people were aware of that during the tough economic times. Clothing is a lot more ephemeral, and people usually don’t see it as something that will remain a daily part of their lives for 30+ years. I’d think more people spent more money on classic furniture, and still bought modern furniture, but with a more disposable (IKEA) mindset and pricepoint about it.
@joev- DWR sold licensed products from Knoll, Herman Miller, Steelcase, Vitra, Emeco etc…, products that have and should retain their value for decades. Most are time tested designs (we’re not talking modern black lacquer from Chiasso or the funky lounger from your local Imports of Norway store) of quality construction that will last a lifetime and have proven to hold significantly high value over decades of ownership. if you paid $500 for a Knoll or HR chair at DWR or anywhere else, you could easily sell it on E-bay for 80% of it’s original retail price if you needed to unload it.
most of IKEA’s furniture might get a second life of .10 on the dollar on Craigslist before it ends up discarded.
i’d go with the 80% return as the better investment. financially that choice isn’t always available, and thus there is IKEA.
we have items of both in our house. if/when we move, the IKEA cabinetry will stay (unless it’s been replaced), the Eames and Nelson pieces will go to the next home.
DWR’s mistake was overestimating the market and expanding rapidly. They could have learned from IKEA’s more deliberate growth.
dru Says: i think it is a little dishonest if they blame the local economy for closing this location.
The woman from the store who I spoke with on the phone said “the economy” and not “the local economy” which could have meant that the poor national economy was forcing them to close stores.
I guess its the economy, but I blame the prices more. Sure the high class design labels will hold value, and I am sure its much better quality the IKEA, but take a look at most of their catalog.
Outdoor “clearance” large plain white flower pot = $270 dollars.
An outdoor floor lamp = $6,000!!!