Name Change

SIGNALING BOLD NEW ERA, THE MITCHELL GOLD CO. CHANGES ITS NAME TO MITCHELL GOLD + BOB WILLIAMS AND MAKES MARKETING HISTORY IN THE PROCESS

NEW NAME SALUTES CONTRIBUTIONS OF BOB WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT OF DESIGN AND COMPANY CO-FOUNDER

High Point, NC, April 13, 2005:
A company known for bold, creative risk has caught the industry and its most knowledgeable observers off guard again. This time, however, the news is not just about a new product or a provocative advertising campaign. Instead, the company used the occasion of its "Sweet 16" party at the bi-annual High Point Furniture Market, to announce that effective immediately, it would be known as Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

The change, unveiled by co-founder and chair-man Mitchell Gold is particularly surprising because there is so much brand recognition and consumer loyalty associated with the Mitchell Gold Company name. Nevertheless, Mitchell felt that the time was right to broaden the company's name, reflecting the vast contributions of co-founder Bob Williams. In addition to starting the business with Mitchell in 1989 and being 50/50 partners from the start, Bob has lead the company's award-winning, innovative design efforts. Industry insiders familiar with the organization know that Bob has always been an integral part of the company's great success as a style, value and quality leader in the furniture industry.

"I am very humbled by Mitchell's decision to put my name on the Company's title at this point in the evolution of this business," said Bob Williams. "Frankly, it doesn't surprise me that Mitchell would take such a risky step. I've come to know him as someone who will go to bat for what he stands for and what he thinks is right. He and I love our company, it's our baby, and we will continue to nurture it together more passionately than ever."

When Mitchell and Bob founded the company together 16 years ago, Bob was coming from a publishing background as the promotions art director for Seventeen magazine while Mitchell was a veteran of the furniture industry. Mitchell had connections and a reputation from his years at Bloomingdale's and The Lane Co. In other words, he had a name that customers would know and be comfortable with. The truth is that Bob was painfully shy while Mitchell is an extrovert and very comfortable as the "front person." At the time, putting Mitchell's name on the company made a lot of sense.

Working closely together over the years, Mitchell and Bob have built a $100 million company that is still rapidly growing and expanding. Said Gold, "the right and only thing to do is to give Bob the recognition he so deserves" (how many other CEO's would put their egos aside like this?). Mitchell also feels, importantly, that the company is not being true to its brand by leaving Bob's name off the masthead.

The "tipping point" in this momentous decision for Mitchell, was when Metropolitan Home magazine was giving a "Design 100" award to the company and only wanted to include Mitchell in the article. Another example occurred at the opening of their new showroom in Boston last fall. Mitchell was receiving all the attention and credit for the store's beautiful design and its products, when in fact, Bob and he do all these things together. Their success has been a result of the amazing synergy they have together in all aspects of the business, from design to marketing to operations to finance.

Although marketing and brand executives do not feel changing the name is necessary or even the right thing to do, Mitchell knows otherwise. Without Bob's name on the masthead, the company is not being true to its own principles of what a brand with depth really stands for -- honesty, quality, integrity and a whole people-first approach to life. Mitchell wants Bob to be equal in every way possible including the name of the company they built together.

The new name and logo will roll out to the website, retail stores and via the company's advertising initiatives beginning April 14th.

From the beginning, Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams set out to create a company with a different mindset. One that would take care of its employees and customers in a way no other had. As a result, they have raised the bar and set a standard in the traditional furniture industry for others to follow. The company's family-centric programs started from the onset, and years later with the creation of Lulu's Childhood Enrichment Center, an award-winning, non-profit, on-site daycare facility so employees of the company had a great place to drop off their children and grandchildren in the morning (the daycare was the first on-site center in the residential furniture industry setting the standard for others to follow).

Then there was the health-conscious gourmet cafe run by the company's trained chef, a physical fitness center, a concierge service, scholarships for deserving students of employees, an annual health fair, and many other programs which continue to contribute to the company's exceptionally low turnover (the lowest in Alexander County), and industry-high productivity levels. The Company is considered to be a model corporation within its community and at the regional and national levels.

Today, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams employs over 700 people from their factory headquarters in Taylorsville, NC, where they operate from a state-of-the-art 600,000 square foot facility. The company has received numerous design awards and accolades from the media. Most recently, they were selected as one of 26 "Entrepreneurs We Love" from Inc. magazine, and they have been the subject of many profile stories in publications such as Time, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. In addition, their products have been featured in virtually every shelter and lifestyle publication of note.

The company's products are sold through the nation's most popular stores and catalogs among them, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Storehouse, and Williams Sonoma Home. Due to the success of the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams showrooms at ABC Carpet & Home stores, individual retailers have been opening Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams retail showrooms throughout the country such as Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Seattle and Portland. The Company also has a Hotel & Textiles division where their furniture can be found at high-end hotels like The Ritz Carlton, Westin, and W properties and in lounges such as The Whisky Bars. www.mgbwhome.com and www.mgbwhomehotel.com.

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