Recliners from US at Rs 25,000

The $2 billion US luxury furniture maker, La-Z-Boy, has identified Bangalore-based Stanley Seating, premium leather upholstery designer, as its sole licensee partner for India.

Tom Brown, managing director La-Z-Boy International, said, "Stanley Seating has been entrusted to build a market for us in the entire Indian subcontinent including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal."

La-Z-Boy is famous for its reclining furniture in the US and European markets. It operates in 65 countries and has 335 furniture galleries and 370 in-store galleries.

For India, the company is targeting IT companies, rich homes, high-end hospitals and facilities like multiplexes.

"We selected India as a target market based on its economy and growing demand for products from middle income homes. We also felt that Indian consumers (IT manpower) are aware of the global lifestyle choices," said Brown.

Stanley Seating, which began operations in 1995 has become a leader in leather upholstery catering to custom-styled car interiors, sofas, chairs and various lifestyle seating products for homes and offices.

The company's turnover for 2004-2005 was Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million). The company is an OEM for Ford and GM and its business is divided into three main segments - genuine leather upholstery, automotive and furniture.

For the Indian market, the company plans to import in CKD form and Stanley Seating will take up the finishing part. The company is introducing six models in India.

According to Sunil Suresh, founder and CEO, Stanley Seating, partnership with La-Z-Boy hopes to herald a new direction in the Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) retail branded furniture business in India.

The company has set up a dedicated unit in Bangalore to manufacture initially 350 chairs per month and gradually scale it to 1,000 by the year end, he added.

Stanley Seating is taking the dealership route to have pan-Indian presence. "Under phase I of the product launch, in Bangalore we have appointed six dealers and have plans for 75 dealers covering top 10 cities within a year," said Suresh.

In the second year, the company will be targeting other cities not covered under phase I and neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Stanley Seating is preparing its strategies to penetrate furniture stores, home theatre stores, lifestyle stores, malls, and display at all Stanley Boutiques, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Thomas Zollar, general manager, La-Z-Boy International said the company is currently selling over 16,000 pieces of furniture everyday and marketing furniture for every room of the home and office as well as for the hospitality and healthcare sectors.

"A similar strategy is planned for India and here recliners come with a special 10 year warranty and are priced in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000, depending on model and upholstery," he added.

For the Indian market the company has identified six models with upholstery options Larson, Dreamtime, Cardinal, Bennet, Grand Canyon and Pinnacle.