DWRI News Design Within Reach Promotes Karen John to Vice President of Design and Merchandising
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2006--Design Within Reach, Inc. (Nasdaq:DWRI) today announced that Karen John has been promoted to the newly created position of Vice President of Design and Merchandising.
Encompassing all design and merchandise activities for DWR, Ms. John's expanded responsibilities include leading DWR's overall product strategies, developing new products, and managing partner relations with designers and manufacturers. Ms. John, who has served as a consultant to the company since 2003 and as Director of Product Development since 2005, will continue to report to Ray Brunner, DWR's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"The energy and knowledge Karen brings to her new position will benefit our customers, our buying team and all of our stakeholders," said Ray Brunner, President and Chief Executive Officer. "With Masters degrees in Industrial Design, Manufacturing Engineering and Business Administration, Karen has proven to be a well-respected and outstanding innovator and leader."
"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to work closely with our product and sales teams to uncover new and relevant design solutions that will further advance DWR's design leadership," said Karen John, Vice President of Design and Merchandising.
Ms. John began consulting with Design Within Reach in 2003 to help define the vision, strategy and process for the company's product development efforts and was named Director of Product Development in 2005. In this role, she paired some of the industry's most talented designers with skilled manufacturers to design and develop products exclusively for Design Within Reach. Under Ms. John's leadership, the Company's collaborative efforts include the introduction of a modern recliner designed by Jeffrey Bernett, a partnership with Dutch design company Moooi to distribute select designs in the U.S., including Marcel Wander's Bottoni Collection, and a new product category, DWR Bedding, designed with Laura Guido-Clark.
Ms. John began her career working for Antonio Citterio & Partners, an international design firm in Milan, and Austin-based enterprise software company, Trilogy. She holds Masters degrees in Industrial Design from Domus Academy in Milan, Manufacturing Engineering from Stanford University, and Business Administration from Insead in Fontainebleau, France.
Ms. John is assuming merchandise responsibilities from Michelle Carrara, who served as DWR's Vice President of Merchandising from February 2006 to September 2006.
About Design Within Reach, Inc.
Design Within Reach, Inc., founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco, is an integrated multi-channel provider of distinctive modern design furnishings and accessories. The Company markets and sells its products to both residential and commercial customers nationwide through the DWR catalog, studios, website and direct sales force, and a single common "in stock and ready to ship" inventory.
"Design Within Reach" is a registered trademark of Design Within Reach, Inc.
This press release includes forward-looking statements, including statements related to anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings, operating cash flows, the outlook for Design Within Reach's markets and the demand for its products. Factors that could cause Design Within Reach's actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements including the following: if we are unable to continue to increase our net sales while reducing our promotional discounts, our profitability may be impaired; if we fail to offer merchandise that our customers find attractive, the demand for our products may be limited; we do not have long-term vendor contracts and as a result we may not have continued or exclusive access to products that we sell; our business depends, in part, on factors affecting consumer spending that are not within our control; our business will be harmed if we are unable to implement our growth strategy successfully; the expansion of our studio operations could result in increased expenses with no guarantee of increased earnings; if we do not manage our inventory levels successfully, our operating results will be adversely affected; we depend on domestic and foreign vendors, some of which are our competitors, for timely and effective sourcing of our merchandise; declines in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies could adversely affect our operating results; and we face intense competition and if we are unable to compete effectively, we may not be able to maintain profitability. Please refer to our reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our latest Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal year 2006, for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties. We also caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
