La-Z-Boy and X-Rite Introduce In-store Color Matching Technology for Custom Fabric Selection

Furniture World Magazine

La-Z-Boy, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of upholstered furniture, has taken the guesswork out of do-it-yourself interior design by teaming with X-Rite, the world leader in color innovation, to develop Kaleidoscope – the very first in-store color technology system that lets consumers scan items from home to find matching or correlating fabric colors, making it easy for even the most design-challenged consumers to create a well-dressed room. Through its scanner, Kaleidoscope reads the colors found in a shopper’s favorite home accessories – from throw pillows and carpet swatches to paint chips or draperies – and provides them with a host of fabric recommendations that will correlate with or match the colors in the decorative piece. “Whether consumers are looking to simply add an accent chair to their existing décor, or trying to design an entire room from top to bottom, decorating has never been easier,” said Jennifer Sievertsen, director of brand and retail marketing for La-Z-Boy. “Kaleidoscope will help consumers tackle any size decorating project and get the stylish look of perfectly correlated fabrics without the cost of hiring a professional designer.” “As the number of do-it-yourselfers and home decorating enthusiasts continues to grow, consumers are looking for assistance in the color selection process at the retail level. Kaleidoscope fulfills this consumer need for the furniture industry,” said Beth Ventura, product manager of home décor for X-Rite. Designing a Well-Dressed Room: Kaleidoscope works with consumers to either select fabrics that will coordinate with existing furniture or create a room from scratch with inspiration from just an accessory or paint color. To use Kaleidoscope, shoppers simply bring home accessories of their choice to a local La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® store to be scanned. The precisely calibrated color matching system compares the color of the item with more than 1,500 textiles in the La-Z-Boy library. Consumers indicate whether they are interested in viewing solid, striped, patterned or floral fabrics, and Kaleidoscope provides consumers with the recommended base or accent fabrics that either match or coordinate with the scanned accessory. Fabrics’ colors are brightly displayed on Kaleidoscope’s 20-inch Apple iMac® flat screen. “Kaleidoscope’s accuracy in matching and correlating colors from the items consumers bring to the store with the fabrics in the La-Z-Boy collection is extremely precise. In fact, each week the system is calibrated to ensure it is working properly with the full color gamut,” said Sievertsen. “Consumers can feel confident they are receiving viable fabric recommendations that will help them pull their rooms together.” In addition, the system provides fabric-to-frame renderings with photo-realistic images, enabling consumers to view the recommended fabrics on the La-Z-Boy frame of their choice before making the final selections. The renderings can be printed for consumers to take home or saved to the La-Z-Boy Web site’s “My Studio” feature and accessed from home for review and further contemplation. “Kaleidoscope makes the design process more comfortable for consumers and provides them with confidence in their fabric and frame selections by allowing the finished product to be seen before it even arrives in their home,” said Sievertsen. “The entire system makes designing a room virtually fool-proof.” Developing Kaleidoscope: Since April 2004, a team of 20 La-Z-Boy and X-Rite members has been dedicated to the development of Kaleidoscope’s revolutionary color matching technology. Kaleidoscope’s technology is patent-pending and was designed to be simple and fun to use for La-Z-Boy sales associates, providing valuable assistance in the home decorating process. “As an industry leader, La-Z-Boy is always looking for opportunities to improve the customer experience in our retail network, so it’s only natural that we are the first to offer this revolutionary technology,” said Kurt Darrow, president and chief executive officer of La-Z-Boy. “Kaleidoscope takes the guesswork out of the fabric selection process, making shopping simple and more pleasurable for our customers.” “We are thrilled to be partnering with La-Z-Boy to bring this new and exciting technology to home decorating enthusiasts,” said Michael Ferrara, chief executive officer of X-Rite. “Kaleidoscope is user friendly and will truly make the design process faster and easier for consumers.” Kaleidoscope’s break-through technology is exclusive to La-Z-Boy for 18 months and integrates a 20-inch Apple iMac computer, a high-quality digital scanner, a monitor and scanner calibrator, all working together to provide consumers with accurate fabric recommendations and decorating solutions. Kaleidoscope will be available at La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® stores beginning in spring 2006. Consumers can visit www.lazboy.com to find the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries dealer nearest them. About La-Z-Boy: Headquartered in Monroe, Mich., La-Z-Boy is North America’s largest manufacturer of upholstered furniture and the world’s leading producer of reclining chairs. The company manufactures a full line of products for the living room and family room, including the company’s world-famous recliners, reclining sofas and loveseats, sleep sofas, modular furniture and leather upholstery, as well as stationary sofas, love seats and chairs. It is a division of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE, PCX: LZB), one of the nation’s largest furniture manufacturers and marketers. About X-Rite: X-Rite is a leading provider of color measurement solutions comprised of hardware, software and services for the verification and communication of color data. The company serves a broad range of industries, including graphic arts, digital imaging, industrial and retail color matching, and medical. X-Rite is global, with 18 offices throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, serving customers in over 88 countries. About X-Rite’s Retail Home Décor Business: The explosion of the do-it-yourself movement, combined with trends in color and home décor, has created enormous opportunities in the retail environment, where consumers are looking for guidance in color selection. When it comes to color matching and coordination, consumers are increasingly expecting retailers to offer in-store color expertise. Where else can color make a difference? X-Rite actively monitors consumer color trends across retail markets, and creates color solutions that add value, while helping the retailer generate more efficient operation, increasing per-ticket sales and driving brand loyalty.