The Hindu Business Line : La-Z-Boy upbeat about personal chair market in India

Stressed out lifestyles and long driving hours will only help this brand grow. Riding high on the concept of the ‘personal chair’ market in the country, La-Z-Boy, the third largest furniture brand in the world, expects to be in at least 20,000 Indian homes in the next two-three years.

“We’re present in every American home now and are upbeat about the personal chair market in India,” Mr Roger Miller, Corporate Vice-President and General Manager International, La-Z-Boy Inc said.

La-Z-Boy recliners, launched in 1929, popularised the concept of a ‘personal chair in the US.’

Currently, it commands a 98 per cent brand awareness and a 25 per cent market share in the recliner market and 60 per cent share in the motion furniture market in the US. In India, Stanley Seating, which has an exclusive licensing agreement with La-Z-Boy to manufacture and market the recliners in India, has launched a chain of exclusive stores across the country. Called Studio La-Z-Boy, these stores are in two formats: medium and small-sized, present in high traffic density areas.

Mr Sunil Suresh, CEO, Stanley Seating, said that the company expects to launch 36 stores by the end of 2008.

Manufacturing hub

“India could also become a manufacturing hub for the rest of the world for these chairs,” Mr Suresh said.

Positioned in the medium to high-end segment, La-Z-Boy recliners are priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 24,000.

La-Z-Boy is also launching its home theatre seating range and the matinee line for small theatres and multiplexes in the country soon.

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