Knoll Introduces First E-commerce Destination

May 7, 2013

New York, May 7, 2013 — Today Knoll launched a new website at www.knoll.com to mark the company’s 75th anniversary. The new site consists of two main portals, The Shop for consumers, and Design & Plan resources for design professionals. The site offers a streamlined approach to online shopping and professional planning information, providing a digital platform engineered for continuous change that is compatible with today's browsers and tablet devices.

The Shop will sell furniture, textiles and accessories for the home and home office, offering consumers the opportunity to purchase new and iconic pieces directly from Knoll. The site includes the complete line of KnollTextiles upholstery, drapery and wall coverings for the home, as well as textiles and wall coverings for commercial, healthcare and hospitality applications at knolltextiles.com.

The Design & Plan portal includes extensive resources to help orient design and facilities professionals to the complete range of Knoll workplace solutions for commercial, healthcare, education and hospitality environments. Research, case studies, and planning ideas offer detailed overviews of Knoll workplace capabilities. Graphic, information-rich product pages present features and technical data. Additional resources include a media bank as well as furniture symbols and surface finishes libraries.

The website’s contemporary look and feel, conceived in collaboration with New York based CreateThe Group, reflects the same thoughtful design that has distinguished Knoll products since 1938. The site helps celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary Modern always™ campaign, which underscores the ever-changing needs of Knoll customers and the company’s commitment to their evolving aspirations for their homes and workplaces in particular. It also features extensive content pertaining to the company's design heritage, including an interactive anniversary timeline as well as comprehensive assets to its workplace research and sustainable design programs.

Commenting on the launch of the new website, Andrew Cogan, CEO, said “Our new website not only showcases our brand portfolio and rich history, but also expands our reach to consumers 24/7.”

“The site has been designed to enhance the effectiveness of our digital outreach, focusing on planning resources for design professionals and their clients as well as our Knoll dealer network,” added Lynn Utter, President, KnollOffice.

Introducing the Shop at knoll.com

The new Knoll online shop allows consumers to shop and browse the company’s range of furniture and accessories for the home and home office in a variety of ways:

• By Category, including traditional product group offerings like “Seating,” “Tables,” and “Desks” as well as such easily accessed, curated categories like “Knoll Classics” and “QuickShip”
• As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, Knoll will also sell a limited number of vintage designs online
• By Room, including furniture for outdoor spaces
• By Brand, including KnollStudio®, KnollTextiles®, KnollExtra®, KnollOffice®, knoll kids® and FilzFelt®, the company’s purveyor of felt and felt products
• By Designer, including furniture, textiles and accessories from over 30 designers from the pantheon of modern masters who have collaborated with Knoll since its founding – from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen to Richard Schultz and Frank Gehry. Featured textile designers include Anni Albers, Dorothy Cosonas and Rodarte

The new shopping site not only allows consumers to access the brand’s most popular collections and configure products for purchase with a range of fabrics and finishes but also offers online exclusives and invites consumers to receive news about products, promotions and design ideas from Knoll.

The online shop features a special section called Inspiration that includes storytelling and high touch editorial features: “In Conversation,” “Design Pulse,” “Design Eye” and “Palettes.” This editorial content also allows the brand to reach out to consumers with content via social media.

Introducing Design & Plan at knoll.com

The new Knoll Design & Plan portal is designed to make Knoll’s comprehensive portfolio of KnollOffice, KnollStudio, KnollTextiles and KnollExtra workplace and residential products easy to browse. The portal is anchored by Planning overviews that detail Knoll’s perspective on open plan, private office, activity spaces and seating.

Information-rich product pages accessible via Category, Brand, Applications or Designer, make use of bold interactive visuals and videos that highlight product features.

Product pages also include a plethora of downloads pertaining to research, sustainable design and planning tools. In addition, each page features a product story and designer information. Product pages for KnollOffice product lines include planning ideas from the company’s gallery of over two thousand idea starters for use in AutoCAD, Sketchup and Revit.

Design & Plan Resources offers access to:

• Research briefs and white papers pertaining to work trends, workplace design, ergonomics and managing change
• A redesigned Media Bank that includes downloads to photos and videos
• "Project Profiles," the company’s popular case study series across a range of industries and sectors
• The Knoll Furniture Symbols Library
• A new Surface Finish Library that allows users to explore signature materials and finishes and the evolving breadth of the Knoll palette

About Knoll

Knoll is the recipient of the 2011 National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement from the Smithsonian's Copper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve and endure. Today, our commitment to modern design, our understanding of the workplace and our dedication to sustainable design has yielded a unique portfolio of products that respond and adapt to changing needs. Knoll is aligned with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Canadian Green Building Council and can help companies achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED® workplace certification. Knoll is the founding sponsor of the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk program.

Media Contacts:

For Media Requests:
Tony Nikolla
Edelman
212 642-7798
[email protected]

For Social and Digital Media:
[email protected]

David E. Bright
Knoll, Inc.
212 343-4135
[email protected]