La-Z-Boy partners with Brown Jordan International for line of outdoor furniture

Launch includes fully functional recliner

By Courtney Mueller -- Casual Living, 1/9/2007 6:31:00 AM

La-Z-Boy has partnered with Brown Jordan to launch its first line of casual furniture. Through the licensing agreement, Brown Jordan International will design, manufacture and market the products under the La-Z-Boy brand. The collection debuted online and in Sam’s Clubs throughout the United States and Mexico this month. 

La-Z-Boy and Brown Jordan have partnered to launch a line of casual furniture.

As part of the initial launch, BJI introduced the first fully functional recliner intended for outdoor use. Also included in the launch are chaise lounges, ottomans, end tables and sofas in three deep seating collections – Whitley, Graham and Alexander – all crafted of all-weather resin over an aluminum frame accented with decorative cast aluminum ends. “A partnership of this magnitude with La-Z-Boy was extremely compelling to Brown Jordan International,” said Chris Carmicle, BJI’s president, national accounts and direct imports division. “Research confirms La-Z-Boy is by far one of the most recognized consumer brands in the furniture industry and is consistently ranked as one of the 10 best home brands overall. The recent shift towards outdoor comfort in the furniture market made this partnership very timely.” In April 2005, La-Z-Boy announced it may extend the brand into other arenas. A license agreement with NorthPole Limited for the design, manufacturing and marketing of outdoor leisure products followed.  “For 80 years, La-Z-Boy has been focused on providing a wide selection of comfortable and quality furniture for the home’s interior,” said Jennifer Sievertsen, vice president of brand marketing for La-Z-Boy. “We are proud to partner with BJI on this venture given their reputation as the premier outdoor furniture designer and manufacturer. We are very excited about the designs debuting …as well as the future of this category for our company.” Whether the La-Z-Boy brand of outdoor furniture will be made available to specialty retailers in the future is unknown. “La-Z-Boy and BJI are exploring additional distribution options,” said Emily Shirden, media relations for La-Z-Boy. “Our contract for La-Z-Boy allows for distribution into the specialty/furniture store areas, but we currently have not started planning this,” Carmicle added.