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Everything Has an Echo

Accessories for You and Your Home

(New York - January 2002) Echo, now in its 79th year, has established itself as one of the most successful and oldest running family businesses in the accessories industry. With matriarch Dorothy Roberts at the helm, Echo meets the challenges of the new millennium via growth, expansion and an old fashioned commitment to its customer.

In 1923, Edgar C. Hyman founded a scarf company with his wife Theresa, based on their firm personal dedication to creativity, service and quality. At Theresa's suggestion, they added an "O" to Edgar's initials, and Echo Scarves was born.

The history of Echo is as multi-faceted as the many colors, fabrics, patterns and prints found in its collections. Truly an American accessory dynasty, the company's extensive collections are designed not only under its own label, but through private labels, licensing agreements and by commission. Over 1,800 designs are produced each year. Members of the Echo design and product development team travel throughout the world for inspiration, studying fashion and color trends and searching for the best in design, fabrication and craftsmanship.

Echo was founded on Edgar and Theresa's wedding day, September 27, 1923. Eight decades later, the company remains family owned and the third generation of the Hyman family carries on Edgar's founding principles. In 1978, Dorothy Roberts, Edgar's daughter, was named President and Chief Executive Officer when Paul Roberts, her husband and Edgar's successor, passed away. Charles Williams, a 25-year veteran, but not a member of the Roberts' clan, was named President of Echo in 1989, in a tradition-breaking move. Currently, family involvement includes Dorothy's son, Steven Roberts, as Co-President; her daughter Lynn Roberts, as Vice President of Advertising & Public Relations; and Steven's wife, Meg Roberts as a senior member of Echo's design team. Says Dorothy, "We're really a family of people who care, and that's a good way to live and work."

Company headquarters are in New York, but the company is truly worldwide. Echo retail customers are in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Sales offices are maintained in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal and London. The Manhattan offices and showrooms comprise more than 26,000 square feet and its offices and distribution facilities in New Jersey total 52,000 feet.

By the 1980's, Echo had secured itself as a leader in the accessory market. Soon other internationally predominant companies looked to Echo for their own design and production, and Echo began its many successful ventures into product licensing. In 1984, Echo was named the sole licensee for Polo/Ralph Lauren scarves for men and women. This high quality, exclusively designed line is sold in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. In 1997, Echo began producing, selling, and distributing a line of Lauren scarves, wraps and cold weather products.

In the Fall of 1995, Echo, through a licensing agreement, began working together with Laura Ashley to design and produce scarves and wraps. They are sold through the Echo showroom to major department stores and to specialty stores throughout North America and Europe.

Seeking ever new and exciting avenues for its designs, Echo launched its first collection of wallcoverings and printed fabrics for the home in Fall 1992. Echo's current wallcovering collection is being produced by Gramercy, a division of F. Schumacher & Co. Echo's printed fabrics, woven fabrics and trim are produced by Kravet Fabrics. They are available at retail stores and select decorator showrooms.

Less than a year after its first home textile and wallpaper collections were launched, Echo presented its first collections of bed and bath ensembles, produced by Revman Industries. Products are available through major department stores and home stores.

Beginning in January 1996, Echo introduced elegant paper goods with C.R. Gibson. The extensive collection includes stationery, photo albums, paper plates and napkins, and gift-wrap all in a variety of Echo patterns. Products are available in fine stores nationwide.

To enhance the existing Echo collections, the company purchased the assets of Schertz Umbrellas, Inc. in June 1997, and began producing umbrellas for men and women. In addition to umbrellas, the expanded Echo RAIN collection now includes raincoats, ponchos and rainhats. This collection is available at department and specialty stores.

In 1998, to commemorate their 75th anniversary year, Echo produced a coffee table book by Meg and Steven Roberts titled Home For All Seasons published by Harry N. Abrams. The book is filled with solutions for styling our personal spaces and takes the reader through every room expressed through the seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter and holiday, using aspects of color, texture and pattern. Inspired by the overwhelming success of the first book, Echo created a second book by Meg and Steven Roberts titled Time at Home. Released in October 2001, Time at Home is organized by the times of the day, taking a slice-of-life approach to home design.

Echo's recent acquisition of Monsac in October 2000, solidifies its position as a premiere force in fashion accessories. Monsac, a leading luxury leathergoods brand, designs handbags, accessories and travel-related items.

Through a brand new licensing arrangement with Trade Am International, Echo is now designing a full line of area rugs, accent rugs, throws and decorative pillows.

Many of Echo's exciting projects have been custom designing scarves and ties for prominent museums, major corporations, airlines and historical societies. Its custom design division began in 1968 when a leading museum commissioned Echo to create a commemorative scarf. In 1973, Echo began producing private label scarf collections for stores and buying offices nationwide. Among the celebrated institutions working with Echo are The Smithsonian Institution, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Natural History, and The Museum of Modern Art just to name a few.

Continuing with her father's commitment to design, quality and respect for the consumer, Mrs. Roberts has given Echo a face-lift for the new century. No longer just a scarf company, this design house is creating new products, developing a broader clientele, working with exciting companies, and expanding into new markets.

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For more information, please contact:

The Echo Design Group

Veronika Ullmer, Loving + Company, 212.213.3504