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Easy Lounging: Recession boosts sales of recliners, which now come with more gizmos
AP Photo
Pat Browning, 80, of Yukon, Okla., says she bought her recliner because she spends a lot of her time at home sitting.
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Published: October 17, 2009
HIGH POINT
Ah, the recliner. The American invention that linked lazing in the living room to television and frozen dinners is one of the few bright spots in a well-worn U.S. household-furniture industry.
Sales of reclining chairs are getting a lift from the growing popularity of high-tech TVs, home-theater equipment and video games, as well as an aging population that is less active. Even the recession, which forced many Americans to cancel vacation plans, seems to have helped sales of the comfy lounge chairs.
Sales of reclining chairs and sofas totaled $3.5 billion last year and are expected to climb to $4 billion within five years, according to trade magazine Furniture/Today and Easy Analytic Software Inc in New York.
That's a stark contrast to the nearly 13 percent drop in sales that furniture stores saw through September this year, compared with the same nine-month period last year, according to census data. That bad news includes a slight 1.4 percent rise in retail sales from August to September, the government reported this week.
Today, as the household-furniture industry assembles in High Point for the start of its twice-a-year international trade show and market, several manufacturers will be showcasing recliners with more gizmos.
Berkline is introducing a recliner line starting at $699 with installed stereo speakers, a subwoofer, and a plug for an iPod. The company has an existing model called the ButtKicker, which can be hooked up to a special amplifier that delivers the shakes and vibrations of the action on your home-theater system.
Also new this year, is a top end to the line of massage chairs retailing for about $1,200 to $2,400. The deluxe version offered this year costs $2,599, conforms to the shape of the user's body and includes a system of pressurized air bags for a massage that mimics human hands.
For Americans facing job insecurity and weak home sales -- the strongest driver for people to buy new furniture -- conserving cash has led some families to open the pocketbook just a bit so that they could at least ride out the recession in comfort.
Pat Browning, an author of mystery books and a retiree, said she cashed in her stimulus check this spring and bought a $199 blue microfiber recliner at Big Lots in May.
"The comfort level is important because I am home all the time," said Browning, 80, of Yukon, Okla. "I spend my life sitting at a computer, writing and doing endless research, but the mind can absorb only what the seat can endure. "
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