Sitting pretty: La-Z-Boy expands beyond a chair company

MONROE -- La-Z-Boy, the Monroe furniture company made famous for its reclining chairs, now has a $65-million headquarters that is designed, its CEO said, to look and feel more like a home than an office.

But more than that, he said, it is an office that he hopes will help employees be more comfortable and more healthy, get to know each other better and transform the way they think, as La-Z-Boy aims to market itself as more than a chair company — and expand sales globally.

"Our thought process was to build a world office building that had a residential feel," Kurt Darrow, La-Z-Boy's chairman, president and CEO, said Tuesday from his new corner office. "This building speaks to the future."

Darrow — and the 500 other people who work there — plan to showcase their new offices at One La-Z-Boy Drive, on Friday to about 400 invited guests, including Gov. Rick Snyder.

The new headquarters — which incorporates brick, stone, metal, wood and glass — is about 200,000 square feet, slightly smaller than the previous one, but it also is more open and airy.

It is filled with — what else? — La-Z-Boy furnishings and decor.

Large windows allow natural lighting to flood work spaces. A lofty atrium with a grand staircase offers a common space to work, gather and celebrate big achievements.

Fireplaces add homey warmth in the winter. Outdoor decks offer a place to work in the breeze and sunshine in the summer. Wireless connectivity allows employees to work from almost anywhere all the time.

It has a cafeteria, something the former offices did not have, so workers can purchase healthy meals and snacks, and pick up free coffee, tea and fruit.

Outside, it has a reflection pond, a fire pit and a walking trail that winds through the surrounding woods.

Workers started moving in to the new headquarters two months ago.

The building still smells fresh, and as of Tuesday, the portraits of the founders, Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker, haven't been hung yet.

In the move, the company gave up its private museum, which documented the history of the enterprise — and employees lost some of their personal space.

Now, instead of assigned cubicles, workers were given laptops and encouraged to sit in different spaces, close to colleagues they need to be near for whatever they are working on.

They keep their personal belongings in a drawer, or take with them in a bag.

Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker, cousins, started the company in 1927. Knabusch worked for Weis Manufacturing, and began doing furniture jobs for family and friends. Shoemaker, a farmer, got into the business to get out of farming.

They initially named the company, Kna-Shoe. But, it was renamed Floral City Furniture, after Monroe's nickname, to make it clear that they were selling furniture, not shoes.

Their best seller? The reclining chair, the La-Z-Boy.

Originally, the chair was made from wood slats. Later, it was upholstered and came with a variety of features, including vibrating backs. The plush recliners, along with televisions, eventually dominated suburban living rooms.

Artifacts in the La-Z-Boy museum, such as an original slat chair, have been donated to Greenfield Village — and are expected to be put on display, the company said, so more people can see and appreciate them.

Darrow, who started working at the furniture company in 1979, said he wanted a new building that would help market La-Z-Boy as a more than a chair company — and expanding sales outside North America, which are now less than 10%.

To plan for the new offices, the company asked employees for their suggestions and visited other corporate offices.

They tested concepts before starting construction.

They even considered relocating to other states. But in the end they decided to remain in Michigan, and Monroe, where it started.

La-Z-Boy sells comfortable furniture for people's homes, so it made sense, to design a headquarters that felt more like a large house, he said.

Lea Ann Knapp, who has been at the company for 25 years, said the difference between working in the new building and the old one is "night and day," and "people are happier."

It also, she said, has let them leave behind and let go of habits that held them back.

"We have to emphasize the future," Darrow said, "not the past."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com

La-Z-Boy World Headquarters

Address: One La-Z-Boy Drive, Monroe

Cost: $65 million

Square footage: 200,000

Employees: 500

Company history: Two cousins, Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker, started the company in the 1927, They created a reclining chair, which they named, they La-Z-Boy, through a contest.

Opening celebration: 6-9 p.m., Friday