Stressless Jazz Medium - Recliner

Photo: Ekornes

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Photo: Ekornes

Photo: Ekornes

Photo: Ekornes

Photo: Øystein Klakegg

The original Stressless from 1971. Photo: Ekornes

 

The Stressless recliner from Ekornes is one of Norway’s best known design icons abroad. In 2004, the designer wished to create a new and trendy armchair based on the original Stressless, but with added details and functions, and a product adapted to the existing production line. The result was the Stressless Jazz Medium.

The company’s point of departure
Ekornes ASA, the largest furniture manufacturer in the Nordic region, holds the rights to the brand names Ekornes®, Stressless® and Svane®. Stressless is one of the world’s best known brands in the furniture business. Production takes place at seven facilities in Norway, while the products are marketed throughout a large part of the world through individual sales companies in selected markets.

Ekornes’ vision is to be one of the world’s most attractive suppliers of furniture for home furnishing. Ekornes’ business idea is based, among other things, on offering products which in terms of price and design appeal to a broad range of users. In addition, the group shall develop and manufacture products that are outstanding in terms of comfort and function.

The company has maintained a strong focus on rationalisation of the production line, which has made the company competitive despite national/local conditions such as Norway being a high-cost country. These are factors that make it most expedient to carry out product development in-house.

The product development division is organised with an advisory design council and a decision-making product council. The product development division at Ekornes consists of 23 full-time employees, including four designers and one product development manager who is also part of the company’s management team.

How did the project get started?
Ekornes’ Stressless recliner is one of the best known design icons abroad. The original chair, Stressless Original, first appeared in 1971, and was the world’s first recliner. It was the first armchair designed to meet a sitting user’s need for movement and support. After 10 years, the steel chair was supplemented by a wooden chair that found broader appeal. After 20 years, the steel recliner was taken out of production and the company’s nickel-plating facility was closed down.

As a brand, the Stressless is loved by many and hated by some, and it has been copied and imitated the world over.

The question of designing a new steel chair was one that was constantly being raised between the product development manager and designer. While on holiday in December 2004, the designer produced a decisive sketch which would form the basis of a new project. The designer wished to create a trendy chair that took as its basis the Stressless Original but with added details and functions and a product adapted to the existing production line. The proposal was submitted to the design council and product council.

Challenges underway
The first challenge went to the production line. Would they be able to tackle this? It was clear that Ekornes had no wish to build a new nickel-plating facility. The product development manager argued in favour of using stainless steel, due to its durability and environmental factors, and in order to produce a sober result.

As a material, however, stainless steel is difficult to handle industrially, which meant that the new product would pose major challenges for the production facility. In addition, the designer wished to solve the bending problems – the bend in a bend – in a way that was new in the industry. The result would be a very elegant solution, but also one that was incredibly difficult to achieve.

At Ekornes, development of a new product idea is a process involving many parts of the company, from production, designers and management to those who work in sales. Once everyone involved has had their say, the product council decides whether the concept is something worth investing in.

Conceptualisation
With the launch of the new Stressless recliner, Ekornes wished to reach out to another section of the market than that attracted by the wooden recliner. It was not their intention to compete against the wooden chair. The original had a clear form of expression closely linked to “form follows function”, made visible in the use of steel as a load-bearing material. This was something the designer wished to take up again.

In addition to using steel in the load-bearing construction, the company wished to retain Stressless’ existing gliding system, the chair was not to revolve on the column. The company also wanted to pave the way for assembly at several heights, and the company also wanted to use existing production lines for the seat and back.

Solution
The result, the Stressless Jazz, is rooted in the original but also includes new functions that have become available since the original was first developed. The recliner is made from polished, stainless steel and is manufactured in Sunnmøre in Norway. It is important for Ekornes to remain close to the production facility, among other things so that it can solve any problems that arise and maintain quality control. In order to achieve its goal of producing the Stressless Jazz, the company has itself developed a lot of new production equipment.

“The Stressless Jazz lives up to Ekornes’ design philosophy; it is decorative, it functions and it is industrialised,” says Arve Ekornes, director of product development.

Commercialisation
Current figures show that the Stressless Jazz has found favour with a new customer group and that it has boosted total sales of Stressless recliners. It is too early, however, to say anything about the financial effects for the company.

“Sales have exceeded all our expectations. The recliner has been well received throughout the world, and the company has received a lot of attention. We still haven’t dared show it in all markets, because have already noticed there’s a lot of pressure on the production line,” says Jan Lade, design manager at Ekornes.

The project consists of several stages of industrialisation/automation and has therefore not yet been concluded. As at June 2008, production capacity has reached 50 Stressless Jazz recliners each day.

Learning/cooperation
“The ‘project’ actually consisted of a range of different problem issues/solutions that generated 10 or 12 sub-projects. Our experience was that it was extremely important that the production facility became involved in the project at an early stage,” says Lade.

“Cooperation between the production facility and the design team has been very close from day one. Given the complexity of the project, it has been completed in record time. The production facility faced new, unknown challenges that they have gradually managed to solve. The industrialisation of a new Stressless is both demanding and time-consuming.”