Do they even make quality recliners anymore?

[sofadoc]

I must admit. When asked what brand of recliner I recommend, I have no answer.

Brand names really don't mean much anymore. I'm sure there are a few high quality brands out there. But I haven't seen any lately.

Throughout the 60's, 70's, 80s, and 90's, La-Z-Boy built a very good recliner for the money.

Here's a La-Z-Boy footrest that I repaired today:


3/8" particle board. The mechanism wasn't much better either.

Is La-Z-Boy outsourcing to China?

Do you guys know of any quality brands/retailers for recliners?

[baileyuph]

That has become such a low volume demand, Lz Boy was going broke doing it, so now a lot of their furniture is the typical import.

Can't stay in business if no one buys.

Yes, it is made to sell by cheap off shoe labor because that is what the market will pay.  

The technology used to build is higher but what is on the market today verifies that high tech does not guarantee high or simply "quality".

I am repairing around a dozen a week on average, some days it is three or so.  It pays the bills ........

Pay for off shore labor per day is in the area of $3  a day.  Any changes in US furniture manufacturing, in general, will come when robots do the work.  It is in the works, recently read a comprehensive report from an east coast write up about what the American response will be to cheap off shore stuff, or in a word the response to price! The article indicated that the movement is well on its way and bottom lined the information by saying furnitue manufacturing in the USA will never again be same, automation will replace all the people of the past.

It was an interesting article in that this full automation will also facilitate most if not almost all of the repair work we do today because the full automation will have the instant ability to set the right software/hardware in motion to fabricate any needed repair part ready forshipping to consumer (obviously for any furniture previously made by the automated equipment).  The hardware and software can be reinitialized that fast to remake any part needed.

What is in this for us?  Well, ...........if you learn to make robots .............Wink.

No more stock piling of new furniture, it will be essentially "just in time products".  Timeline?  Partial demo of this capability has been done already, the estimate is about 150 workers will be able to do more than the "old school" (current approach) of about 600 people can do today.  Factories  will be small, no big warhouses  storing stock.  

"Old School" just cannot compete is what they swear!

No, to your question, no quality recliners are built today. of it was tried, wouldn't sell.

I tend to believe the article because much of the technology that will be doing the manufacturing for furniture will be doing much more in terms of products for other industries.

Change huh?

Doyle

[mike802]

OK, so let me get this straight, American labor is so expensive that we have to build our stuff overseas to take advantage of slave labor in order to sell anything to the poor Americans.  Unfortunately the slave labor rates of 3 bucks a day is so expensive that we have to substitute quality materials for cheep junk in order to sell anything to the poor Americans.  Unfortunately the slave labor rates coupled with cheep junk material is so expensive that we have to substitute slave labor for robots and we are to expect that these robots will be so wonderful that we can start using quality materials again?  I see a trend here, the robots using quality materials will be so expensive that the quality materials will have to be substituted for cheep junk material in order to sell anything to the poor Americans. One question, who is going to build these wonderful robots, China! ofcourse.  So we will have cheap junk robots trying to make cheap junk furniture to sell the the poor Americans.

The poor Americans are going to stay poor until they wake up and realize it is prohibitively expensive to live when you have to keep buying the same thing over and over and over and it is far cheaper to pay the price upfront for quality that last and last and last.

[byhammerandhand]

Most people do not consider TCO (total cost of ownership) -- buy a $2000 piece once or $599 pieces every five years?

Also we have become a "throw away" society.    I sometimes referred to this as "serial decorators" who want to redecorate every 5-7 years.  Sometimes, that's when they buy a new house, sometimes not, they're just tired of their old stuff.  Then of course there's a potential cost of repair, if even possible because of sub-standard labor and materials, early it its life.

Problem is that there are so many people of this mentality that people who want and will pay for quality have a hard time finding it because there is not much demand.


Story:
Once there was a small town with a railroad depot.   The townsfolk petitioned the RR to add an additional stop at 7:30 in the morning when a non-stop train went through.  The next train was at noon.  The RR responded, "We do not believe there is any demand for a 7:30 stop.  On three consecutive days, we sent an agent to observe and there was not a single sole there at 7:30 waiting for a train.

The poor Americans are going to stay poor until they wake up and realize it is prohibitively expensive to live when you have to keep buying the same thing over and over and over and it is far cheaper to pay the price upfront for quality that last and last and last.

[baileyuph]

Robots in the US will save expensive shipping and they will work just as cheaply here as anywhere.  This reduces the cheap labor advantage of wherever, you get the point.

Another point made that may not be obvious at this point is the robats and such development cost will be shared by other industries, other products.  The wheel isn't invented solely for furniture manufacturing.  That also reduces the cheap labor advantange in the Asian countries.

As far as buy once for a lifetime, young people or younger people or perhaps most people don't consider that important.  One reason who wants an older electronic device?  The changes offered, not many want to keep anything like that after the best and greater has hit the market. 

Furniture, especially.  Once it is dirty, easier to replace because it takes work to clean.  Smile.

It is heard often in my business, from customers having antiques or near that redone:  "I just love this piece, it belonged to.......... you get the drift.  Then, they add, I have daughter or grand daughter who doesn't care a flip for this old stuff, so don't know what will happen to it when..........

Change happens and it continues.

A point, a lot of folks can't afford quality furniture and still have the electronic devices too. 

Regarding recliners, maybe the price of them will go high someday and there will be not as many, but........stay tuned.

Doyle