La-Z-Boy buys fast-rising furniture maker
7/16/2018MONROE — La-Z-Boy Inc. said Monday that it has struck a deal to acquire Joybird, an e-commerce retailer and maker of upholstered furniture.
The company said it expects to close the deal early this fall, at which time Joybird will become a La-Z-Boy wholly owned subsidiary. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Joybird is the trade name of Stitch Industries Inc., which is headquartered in Commerce, Calif. Its manufacturing operations are in Tijuana, Mexico.
Joybird is privately owned and was formed in 2014 by four partners — Alex Del Toro, Andres Hinostroza, Joshua Stellin, and Christopher Stormer. It makes custom, mid-century modern upholstered furniture and had revenue last year of about $55 million.
The co-founders will continue to oversee and grow Joybird and be responsible for sales, customer service, marketing and brand development, and overall operation of the business. Monroe-based La-Z-Boy will offer support through its supply chain capabilities, including procurement and manufacturing.
Kurt Darrow, La-Z-Boy chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said, “The Joybird team has created an incredible brand and online shopping platform and this combination provides great synergies for both companies.
“For La-Z-Boy, it will allow us to better reach millennial and Gen X consumers, leverage our supply chain assets and provide us with a greater presence online. For Joybird, the speed of its growth has been constrained by limited capital and production capacity. When we combine our world-class supply chain with Joybird’s current manufacturing capabilities, it will be able to accelerate expansion and better service its customers, by improving production speed and shortening delivery times, while lowering costs.”