Exhibit 10.23

WELLS FARGO HSBC TRADE BANK    REVOLVING CREDIT LOANS NOTE

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$10,000,000   

San Francisco, California

July 17, 2006

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned DESIGN WITHIN REACH, INC., a Delaware
corporation (“Borrower”) promises to pay to the order of WELLS FARGO HSBC TRADE
BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (“Trade Bank”) at its office at 333 Market Street,
3rdst Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, or at such other place as the holder
hereof may designate, in lawful money of the United States of America and in
immediately available funds, the principal sum of Ten Million Dollars
($10,000,000) or so much thereof as may be advanced and be outstanding, with
interest thereon, to be computed on each advance from the date of its
disbursement at a rate per annum (computed on the basis of a 360-day year,
actual days elapsed) one-quarter percent (.25%) above the Prime Rate in effect
from time to time. The “Prime Rate” is a base rate that WELLS FARGO BANK,
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (“Bank”) from time to time. The “Prime Rate” means the rate
most recently announced by Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Bank”) at
its principal office in San Francisco, California as its Prime Rate, with the
understanding that the Prime Rate is one of Bank’s base rates and serves as the
basis upon which effective rates of interest are calculated for those loans
making reference thereto, and is evidenced by the recording thereof after its
announcement in such internal publication or publications as Bank may designate.
Any change in an interest rate resulting from a change in the Prime Rate shall
become effective as of 12:01 a.m. of the Banking Day on which each change in the
Prime Rate is announced by Bank.

Borrower may from time to time during the term of this Note borrow, partially or
wholly repay its outstanding borrowings, and reborrow, subject to all of the
limitations, terms and conditions of this Note and of that certain Amended and
Restated Credit Agreement between Borrower and Trade Bank dated as of July 17,
2006, as amended from time to time (“Credit Agreement”); provided that the
outstanding principal balance of this Note shall at no time exceed the principal
amount stated above. The unpaid principal balance of this obligation at any time
shall be the total amounts advanced hereunder by the holder hereof less the
amount of principal payments made hereon by or for any Borrower, which balance
may be endorsed hereon from time to time by the holder.

Interest accrued on this Note shall be payable on the last day of each month,
commencing July 31, 2006. The outstanding principal balance of this Note shall
be due and payable in full on November 30, 2007. Each payment made on this Note
shall be credited first, to any interest then due and second, to the outstanding
principal balance hereof.

Advances hereunder, to the total amount of the principal sum stated above, may
be made by the holder at the oral or written request of (a) Ray Brunner, Ken La
Honta, Peter Kruglinski, any one acting alone, who are authorized to request
advances and direct the disposition of any advances until written notice of the
revocation of such authority is received by the holder at the office designated
above, or (b) any person, with respect to advances deposited to the credit of
any account of any Borrower with the holder, which advances, when so deposited,
shall be conclusively presumed to have been made to or for the benefit of each
Borrower regardless of the fact that persons other than those authorized to
request advances may have authority to draw against such account. The holder
shall have no obligation to determine whether any person requesting an advance
is or has been authorized by any Borrower.

Upon the occurrence of any Event of Default as defined in the Credit Agreement,
the holder of this Note, at the holder’s option, may declare all sums of
principal and interest outstanding hereunder to be immediately due and payable
without presentment, demand, protest or notice of dishonor, all of which are
expressly waived by each Borrower, and the obligation, if any, of the holder to
extend any further credit hereunder shall immediately cease and terminate. Each
Borrower shall pay to the holder immediately upon demand the full amount of all
payments, advances, charges, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’
fees (to include outside counsel fees and all allocated costs of the holder’s
in-house counsel), incurred by the holder in connection with the enforcement of
the holder’s rights and/or the collection of any amounts which become due to the
holder under this Note, and the prosecution or defense of any action in any way
related to this Note, including without limitation, any action for declaratory
relief, and including any of the foregoing incurred in connection with any
bankruptcy proceeding relating to any Borrower.

Should more than one person or entity sign this Note as a Borrower, the
obligations of each such Borrower shall be joint and several.

This Note shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the
State of California, except to the extent Trade Bank has greater rights or
remedies under Federal law, whether as a national bank or otherwise, in which
case such choice of California law shall not be deemed to deprive Trade Bank of
any such rights and remedies as may be available under Federal law.

This Note replaces and supersedes in its entirety that certain Revolving Credit
Loans Note dated December 23, 2005 in the maximum amount of $10,000,000 executed
by Borrower in favor of Trade Bank.

 

“BORROWER” DESIGN WITHIN REACH, INC. By:  

/s/ Ray Brunner

  Ray Brunner Title:   Chief Executive Officer Borrower’s Address: 225 Bush
Street, 20th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104

 

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ADDENDUM TO PROMISSORY NOTE

THIS ADDENDUM is attached to and made a part of that certain promissory note
executed by DESIGN WITHIN REACH, INC., a Delaware corporation (“Borrower”) and
payable to WELLS FARGO HSBC TRADE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, or order, dated as
of July 17, 2006, in the principal amount of Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000)
(the “Note”).

The following arbitration provision is hereby incorporated into the Note:

ARBITRATION:

1. Arbitration. The parties hereto agree, upon demand by any party, to submit to
binding arbitration all claims, disputes and controversies between or among them
(and their respective employees, officers, directors, attorneys, and other
agents), whether in tort, contract or otherwise arising out of or relating to in
any way (i) the loan and related loan and security documents which are the
subject of this Note and its negotiation, execution, collateralization,
administration, repayment, modification, extension, substitution, formation,
inducement, enforcement, default or termination; or (ii) requests for additional
credit.

2. Governing Rules. Any arbitration proceeding will (i) proceed in a location in
California selected by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”); (ii) be
governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (Title 9 of the United States Code),
notwithstanding any conflicting choice of law provision in any of the documents
between the parties; and (iii) be conducted by the AAA, or such other
administrator as the parties shall mutually agree upon, in accordance with the
AAA’s commercial dispute resolution procedures, unless the claim or counterclaim
is at least $1,000,000.00 exclusive of claimed interest, arbitration fees and
costs in which case the arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the
AAA’s optional procedures for large, complex commercial disputes (the commercial
dispute resolution procedures or the optional procedures for large, complex
commercial disputes to be referred to, as applicable, as the “Rules”). If there
is any inconsistency between the terms hereof and the Rules, the terms and
procedures set forth herein shall control. Any party who fails or refuses to
submit to arbitration following a demand by any other party shall bear all costs
and expenses incurred by such other party in compelling arbitration of any
dispute. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to be a waiver by any party
that is a bank of the protections afforded to it under 12 U.S.C. §91 or any
similar applicable state law.

3. No Waiver; Provisional Remedies, Self-Help and Foreclosure. The arbitration
requirement does not limit the right of any party to (i) foreclose against real
or personal property collateral; (ii) exercise self-help remedies relating to
collateral or proceeds of collateral such as setoff or repossession; or
(iii) obtain provisional or ancillary remedies such as replevin, injunctive
relief, attachment or the appointment of a receiver, before during or after the
pendency of any arbitration proceeding. This exclusion does not constitute a
waiver of the right or obligation of any party to submit any dispute to
arbitration or reference hereunder, including those arising from the exercise of
the actions detailed in sections (i), (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph.

4. Arbitrator Qualifications and Powers. Any arbitration proceeding in which the
amount in controversy is $5,000,000.00 or less will be decided by a single
arbitrator selected according to the Rules, and who shall not render an award of
greater than $5,000,000.00. Any dispute in which the amount in controversy
exceeds $5,000,000.00 shall be decided by majority vote of a panel of three
arbitrators; provided however, that all three arbitrators must actively
participate in all hearings and deliberations. The arbitrator will be a neutral
attorney licensed in the State of California or a neutral retired judge of the
state or federal judiciary of California, in either case with a minimum of ten
years experience in the substantive law applicable to the subject matter of the
dispute to be arbitrated. The arbitrator will determine whether or not an issue
is arbitratable and will give effect to the statutes of limitation in
determining any claim. In any arbitration proceeding the arbitrator will decide
(by documents only or with a hearing at the arbitrator’s discretion) any
pre-hearing motions which are similar to motions to dismiss for failure to state
a claim or motions for summary adjudication. The arbitrator shall resolve all
disputes in accordance with the substantive law of California and may grant any
remedy or relief that a court of such state could order or grant within the
scope hereof and such ancillary relief as is necessary to make effective any
award. The arbitrator shall also have the power to award recovery of all costs
and fees, to impose sanctions and to take such other action as the arbitrator
deems necessary to the same extent a judge could pursuant to the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure, the California Rules of Civil Procedure or other applicable
law. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any
court having jurisdiction. The institution and maintenance of an action for
judicial relief or pursuit of a provisional or ancillary remedy shall not
constitute a waiver of the right of any party, including the plaintiff, to
submit the controversy or claim to arbitration if any other party contests such
action for judicial relief.

5. Discovery. In any arbitration proceeding discovery will be permitted in
accordance with the Rules. All discovery shall be expressly limited to matters
directly relevant to the dispute being arbitrated and must be completed no later
than 20 days before the hearing date and within 180 days of the filing of the
dispute with the AAA. Any requests for an extension of the discovery periods, or
any discovery disputes, will be subject to final determination by the arbitrator
upon a showing that the request for discovery is essential for the party’s
presentation and that no alternative means for obtaining information is
available.

6. Class Proceedings and Consolidations. The resolution of any dispute arising
pursuant to the terms of this Note shall be determined by a separate arbitration
proceeding and such dispute shall not be consolidated with other disputes or
included in any class proceeding.

7. Payment Of Arbitration Costs And Fees. The arbitrator shall award all costs
and expenses of the arbitration proceeding.

8. Real Property Collateral; Judicial Reference. Notwithstanding anything herein
to the contrary, no dispute shall be submitted to arbitration if the dispute
concerns indebtedness secured directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by
any real property unless (i) the holder of the mortgage, lien or security
interest specifically elects in writing to proceed with the arbitration, or
(ii) all parties to the arbitration waive any rights or benefits that might
accrue to them by virtue of the single action rule statute of California,
thereby agreeing that all indebtedness and obligations of the parties, and all
mortgages, liens and security interests securing such indebtedness and
obligations, shall remain fully valid and enforceable. If any such dispute is
not submitted to arbitration, the dispute

 

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shall be referred to a referee in accordance with California Code of Civil
Procedure Section 638 et seq., and this general reference agreement is intended
to be specifically enforceable in accordance with said Section 638. A referee
with the qualifications required herein for arbitrators shall be selected
pursuant to the AAA’s selection procedures. Judgment upon the decision rendered
by a referee shall be entered in the court in which such proceeding was
commenced in accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 644 and
645.

9. Miscellaneous. To the maximum extent practicable, the AAA, the arbitrators
and the parties shall take all action required to conclude any arbitration
proceeding within 180 days of the filing of the dispute with the AAA. No
arbitrator or other party to an arbitration proceeding may disclose the
existence, content or results thereof, except for disclosures of information by
a party required in the ordinary course of its business or by applicable law or
regulation. If more than one agreement for arbitration by or between the parties
potentially applies to a dispute, the arbitration provision most directly
related to the documents between the parties or the subject matter of the
dispute shall control. This Note may be amended or modified only in writing
signed by each party hereto. If any provision of this Note shall be held to be
prohibited by or invalid under applicable law such provision shall be
ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without
invalidating the remainder of such provision or any remaining provisions of this
Note. This arbitration provision shall survive termination, amendment or
expiration of any of the documents or any relationship between the parties.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Addendum has been executed as of the same date as the
Note.

 

“BORROWER” DESIGN WITHIN REACH, INC. By:  

/s/ Ray Brunner

  Ray Brunner Title:   Chief Executive Officer

 

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