La-Z-Boy is no longer synonymous with your grandpa’s favourite chair.
It still may be to him, of course.
Thanks to Greg Hogeboom and Sarah Hewgill – the children of the owners of La-Z-Boy Southern Ontario – the family business has continued to boom.
The brother/sister team now manages all marketing and operations for La-Z-Boy’s 10 Southern Ontario locations.
One of the duo’s biggest milestones to date is the brand-new concept store in Whitby, Ontario.
It’s definitely worth a drive to the ‘burbs if you’re in the market for some quality furniture with limitless options for customization.
And we know how much you love options.
From the first store-planning session to the Grand Opening, it all came together in an impressive four months.
“I headed up the accessory buying, essentially deciding each and every item that will go in the store,” said Hewgill. “From light fixtures to pillows, artwork and tabletop accessories, I had creative control and was responsible for the way the store would look on opening day and going forward.”
It’s safe to say she has an eye for this type of thing – every vignette in the space looked like it was straight from the pages of a design magazine.
“It’s a design-focused, one-stop-shop for our customers,” says Hewgill, whose biggest challenge was breaking misconceptions about the La-Z-Boy brand.
“Everybody recognizes the La-Z-Boy brand, but one of our goals is to cement the understanding that we are more than just our incredibly comfortable recliners,” says Hewgill. “When people walk into our stores for the first time, we often hear ‘you sell all this?!’ While we love surprising our customers, this shows that we still have some work to do.”
Like many of us who entered the workforce during trying economic times, the pair know the importance of staying ahead of the industry.
“Starting a design and lifestyle blog, The Comfortable House, was the most recent ‘big step’ we took in ensuring our customers recognize us as a design-driven business and resource for knowledge in the furniture industry,” says Hewgill. “We created it as a lifestyle site that provides inspiration for our readers’ homes as well as their lives with recipe and personal posts mixed in.”
Their vision includes a fusion of design and function, as well as continued improvement in customer experience. One standout is the development of an In-Home Design program.
“We have highly qualified designers in each one of our stores who are ready to transform a house into a home with everything from custom upholstery to rugs and case goods. We want to be the first place our customers come when they think about interior design,” says Hewgill.
Technology is at the forefront of the customer experience – something Hogeboom cites as the most crucial element in the growth of the company.
“We rely on technology in the backend to find ways to be more efficient and on the frontend by using devices like iPads within our selling process or looking for specific programs,” says Hogeboom. “Within the company, technology helps us focus on metrics and statistics to help us better grasp why certain areas are struggling or improving.”
Externally, the company makes a positive impact in its community through a partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities.
“We are the official furniture partner for RMHC across North America, but the relationship goes far beyond that,” says Hewgill. “We have had the wonderful privilege of providing furniture for rooms in houses in London, Hamilton and Toronto, but also helping with the RMHC Family Room at The Hospital for Sick Children and furnishing the Games Room in the Toronto House.”
They also visit the London and Toronto houses on a regular basis to cook meals as part of their Home for Dinner program.
Not everyone can endure a Thanksgiving dinner with their family, let alone work with them on a daily basis. But this one seems to manage just fine.
“We’re a tight-knit family, so there’s always an importance placed on maintaining healthy non-business relationships. We’re also all fairly independent and strong-willed, so when it concerns the business, everybody wants his or her opinion heard and taken into consideration,” says Hewgill.
The key to their successful dynamic? Doing different things while working to achieve the same end goal.
“Where our dad and Greg’s work focuses more on sales and operations, our mom and my work focuses more on design, marketing and visual merchandising,” says Hewgill. “This way, there aren’t too many hands in one honey pot, but we all know what everyone is doing at any given time.”
That doesn’t mean that they won’t turn to one another for advice, though…
“They are the first point of contact when I have a question or concern,” says Hewgill of her parents. “They have nearly two decades worth of experience in the furniture industry and even more in retail, so they really have gone through and seen it all.”
As for continuing the success of their parents, Hewgill and Hogeboom have no shortage of motivation to draw from.
Hogeboom cites family as his biggest motivator.
“We go work every day to support not only our own family, but our family of employees at the company as well,” says Hogeboom. “Every customer is important to us and we try our best to carry that out at every point in the selling and delivery aspect.”
“The motivation is to be a better company than we were yesterday,” he continues. “That’s easier said that done.”
You can expect to see more La-Z-Boy locations moving forward, while in the meantime you should seriously make it your mission to set aside a few hours and head to the Whitby flagship.
Check out La-Z-Boy Southern Ontario’s blog The Comfortable House or Facebook page for more info about their various locations as well as stylish solutions to fit any home.