BANGALORE: The US-based Leather upholstery specialists Stanley Seating (SS) have partnered with La-Z-Boy Inc., USA (LZB) to bring their world famous reclines to India. SS will bring in bare CKD kits of six models sourced from LZB Thailand to India and tailor the upholstery to customer specifications.
La-Z-Boy is a brand with a recall rate - 98 per cent, this equals Coca-Cola, claims a LZB official quoting the Gallops survey findings. On an average 15,000 recliners are sold daily worldwide and TV and La-Z-Boy have always been a good pair, with their recliners figuring in some o f the most popular TV shows in the USA including the Bing Croby Show, Frasier and Friends.
LZB has been receiving the largest number of enquiries from customers as well as dealers from India, and this has prompted the tie-up with SS. Highly impressed with SS quality of work in India and also the variety of upholstery available with SS, LZB is considering manufacture of the recliners at SS .
Popular personalities such as Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Cudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer all have their own La-Z-Boy designs named after them.
SS has revenues of Rs 500 million plans to grow the market from the existing three to four thousand to around eight to ten thousand and bring in additional revenues of Rs 250 million this year. SS's multi-channel distribution system exceeding 200 retail centers and showrooms and over a 100 dealers across India will be utilized to market the offerings from LZB, and SS Brand Manager Nagesh Manay hopes to grow this multi-channel distribution system by appointing more dealers and distributors.
Stanley Seating boasts of an impressive clientele ranging from automobile giants like General Motors, Ford, Mitsubishi, Toyota Kirloskar, Volvo, Honda Siel, Mahindra & Mahindra to corporate clients such as General Electric, DELL, Wipro, 3M, Windsor Sheraton and the Leela Palace.
A print media campaign is on the anvil as per SS founder and CEO Sunil Suresh, while TVC's are also in the next nine to twelve month horizon. Creatives initially will be sourced out of the US.
