Les Mandelbaum, Umbra

Umbra found a market in the segment not served by corporate design, switching from hard-edged, high-tech design in the late 70's to the "sexy" 80's with Karim Rashid. In the US, maybe 20% of the market has a sophisticated appreciation of modern design. Umbra's challenge and mission is in addressing a minority audience- not price-driven but trend-setting.

It took 10 years, but now Umbra is able to survive without Wal-mart. Part of Umbra's strategy is having a dedicated manufacturing facility in China.

Design is not a department; it is Umbra. The fun part is designing product, but it only gets you 5% of the way.

Changes in the last 25 years: the rise of Wal-mart and the rise of China.
Wal-mart is about the lowest common denominator of consumer taste, but is overwhelmingly powerful at driving down prices even as materials and labor prices increase here and in China. Walmart and general consolidation in US businesses forces companies to go high-end or low-end, shrinking the middle.

Umbra's strategies to buck this trend and survive without Wal-mart: seek conscientious distribution outlets, develop an internet channel to reach consumers without the retail filter.