La-Z-boy

It was 1927, in Monroe Detroit when two cousins (Edwin Shoemaker and Edward Knabusch) designed their first La-Z-Boy recliner. Until this date, no one had considered designing a chair that reclined…a simple, yet effective concept.

At the time, the cousins constructed the chair entirely out of timber, with the mechanism allowing the chair to move forward, as you pushed the top part of the chair backwards. The chairs appearance represented something you would find on your deck or patio today and was designed to represent ‘nature’s way of relaxing’.

Fast forward till 1928 and this dynamic duo continued to redesign and developed an upholstered version, this time designed for use inside the home. It wasn’t until 1961 however, that the real turning point occurred for the La-Z-Boy brand, with the invention of the La-Z-Boy recliner-rocker. Not only did the La-Z-Boy chair recline, but it now rocked. This small change, led to a big reward, with sales catapulting from $1million a year to over $52 million in the 10 years following. In the 1960’s, other furniture pieces including reclining sofas, sofa beds and modular sofas were introduced.

It was in 1983, that La-Z-Boy then started to stock its first range of stationary sofa’s and chairs…proving the diversity in the brand which also meant appealing to a broader market. La-Z-Boy was set to then put their mark on the world and expanded into other continents, including in New Zealand and Australia.