La-Z-Boy eyes Europe with joint venture
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, December 9, 2001
Monroe, Mich. — U.S. upholstery giant La-Z-Boy has forged a joint venture with a German company to manufacture motion furniture under its powerful brand name and distribute it throughout Europe.
The joint venture, La-Z-Boy Europe, combines the La-Z-Boy brand with the production and distribution capabilities of Steinhoff Group, which owns an array of companies that make furniture, bedding and other household products in Europe, Africa and Australia.
"This is a great marriage of industry leaders with complimentary strengths," said La-Z-Boy President Gerald Kiser. "We believe we will maximize the opportunities available in the European marketplace."
The first products, a line of contemporary and traditional recliners covered in leather and fabric, will be unveiled at the International Furniture Fair in Cologne, Germany, which opens Jan. 14.
La-Z-Boy Europe will be headquartered in The Netherlands. Initially, the recliner line is being produced at Steinhoff facilities in Germany, but production could be added in other European countries where Steinhoff has operations. Eventually, La-Z-Boy and Steinhoff hope to build a plant dedicated solely to La-Z-Boy Europe's production.
"We sell some product in Europe now, but this clearly gives us a chance to do a lot more business there," said La-Z-Boy spokesman Mark Stegeman.
Steinhoff has more than 90 production sites and 21,000 employees worldwide, with total volume of about US$533 million.
Its holdings include Steinhoff Pacific, a joint venture with Freedom Group Ltd. that's the largest furniture manufacturer in Australia; Peach & Hatton, a leading South African furniture producer; and The Reylon Group, a leading bed manufacturer in the United Kingdom.
Steinhoff also is the South African licensee for Sealy and Therapedic bedding, and owns several suppliers of bedding components in Africa and Europe.
Stegeman said a managing director for La-Z-Boy Europe will be named later. Until then, Ralph Rengshausen of Steinhoff and Thomas Zollar, a 20-year La-Z-Boy marketing and sales training veteran, will be acting executive directors of the new company.
| Kiser |
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