The Power of Brand Reinvention with Christy Hoskins from La-Z-Boy

0:00Hey, welcome to the CMO Whisper Show. I'm your host, Steve Olenski. Part marketing practitioner, part ad agency veteran, part journalist. I was a writer for Forbes for 10 years. I've had so many insightful conversations over the years with business leaders, to athletes, to celebrities, to, of course, CMOs. The only difference now is instead of sharing those insights through written form, I'm doing it this way. My guest this week is Christy Hoskins, the VP and CMO of Lazy Boy Brand, leading the brand reinvigoration efforts of the nearly 100, yes, 100, we're going to get to that in a second, beloved brand across consumer marketing, digital commerce, consumer insights, and creative.

0:44Previously, Christy has worked across brands and portfolios at Whirlpool Corporation and Nestle Purina Pet Care. Her experience expands brand management, shopper and retail marketing, innovation and category management across well-known brands like KitchenAid, Whirlpool, Beneful, and Vegas. Christy Hoskin, welcome to the CMO Whisper Show. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. I'm excited to be part of the conversation today. I can't wait to get started. You and I had a really great off the record, not off the record, what am I saying, off-air conversation. And I'm really looking forward to this and my listeners, and they're going to learn so much from you.

1:21So I can't wait to get started. I got to start, right? A hundred years, right? A brand who make it a hundred days, right? Let alone a hundred years. and you're overseeing what I think you're defining as reinvigoration, which I love that word, by the way. Not rebrand, the reinvigoration of Lazy Boy brand as it's about to turn 100. Take us through, like, what does that entail? Yeah, like you said, 100-year-old brand, Lazy Boy turns 100 in 2027. And so back a few years ago, our now CEO, she was new at the time, and we were navigating COVID. And COVID was a great time for our business. It was a time when people were investing in their homes.

2:05They were kind of hunkering down, creating that safe space to navigate COVID. And our business was great. And our CEO at the time said, let's not just ride this wave. Let's make sure we come out of this with a refreshed vision of what our business can be for the future. She saw this kind of 2027 year ahead and she said, let's make sure as we round into our next century that we're even more successful and we have more momentum. We are leading in a way that is new and refreshed into kind of our next century. So a lot of work has gone into that, but there are definitely some core pillars of that century vision, which is what we call it overarching for the enterprise.

2:50I think part of that is brand reinvigoration. And so that really is where my team comes in. But that's a team effort as well. As you know, brand reinvigoration is not just driven by the marketing team. It's driven by the product that we deliver, the experience that we deliver. But we really started with learning about where we are and what are our problems to solve. And what's great about a brand like Lazy Boy is over 100 years of memories and stories and connections, like emotional, real emotional connections to the Lazy Boy brand. I'm actually curious, do you have any like Lazy Boy history yourself?

3:29I do. My father, God rest his soul, he had his, you know, his quote, recliner. That's, you know, if he wasn't doing something around the house or wasn't working, that's where you could find him. And just picture this very large man with his feet up and full of recline and watching. You know, he was a big sports fan. So nine times out of 10, he'd be watching some kind of game. And that's a very fond memory for myself and my siblings. Yeah. And I realized as I came onto this brand three years ago, I dug into my own history and I had some of the same memories. My grandma, that was a big Christmas gift we gave to her one year as a family.

4:10was a brand new Lazy Boy recliner. And that was her spot too. After she had taken care of her family and her grandkids all day, she sat down, she kicked up her feet and she did her crossword puzzles. That was my memory of my grandma. And then when she wasn't in the chair, we all fought over it, right? Because it was the best seat in the house, as we like to say. But those memories are core and there are many of them and many stories like that that exist broadly in our history. But history is a key word here. What we started to realize is a lot of these memories were kind of way back and memories always in the past, of course, but they took us back to grandparents, parents, grandparents, like kind of way back.

4:52And so we started to ask, are we fading into history as a brand? Are we making new memories in the present? And so then we looked at the data and it kind of confirmed these suspicions. So we saw that we had our average age of our consumer was increasing one year every year and it was already high. It was in the 60s. We also did some work to say, what are the barriers to buying Lazy Boy? And the top one was I just didn't think of it. So while it's a brand that's rich in history and memories, we wanted to make sure that it was rich in the present. It was active, interesting, and distinctive in the present.

5:29And so that really became our brief to our internal team, to our partners, was pull Lazy Boy out of memories and make it an active, interesting, and distinctive brand for the present and the future. And so that work has shaped in a lot of ways as we move forward. But it started with getting clear on who we are as a brand. So that took a lot of work, a lot of digging into why people buy us today, understanding the core brand equities. It took really understanding the consumer landscape, too. Where was our growth opportunity? Where were the people who wanted what we offered? And then it took internally and externally kind of breaking a lot of rules that we had put on ourselves mostly for how we go to market, how we connect with consumers, how we present our brand, and really rebuilding a lot of things along the way.

6:18Yeah. I'm going to assume or anticipate the answer to this question, but it's a fine line between homage to your past, but bringing it into the present and future. Yes, it is. And I think what's key to that for us and probably for many is getting clear on your brand DNA, right? Who you are, who you've always been. So Lazy Boy invented the recliner nearly 100 years ago. So we reinvented comfort nearly 100 years ago. We introduced the idea that a chair could be something where you lean back and kick your feet up. That was a new phenomenon. Before, it was kind of rigid chairs that you sat in and maybe didn't enjoy that for very long.

7:02So we invited people to sit and relax for kind of a longer period of time. And so we just went back to our history. We dug into kind of the ethos of the inventors, the two Edwards that we call them, and really kind of got clear on who we are. And, you know, again, we looked at who was buying us today and why they were buying us. So if I ask you what Lazy Boy stands for, I bet you can guess what's at the core for us. To me, the first word comes to mind is comfort. Yes, 100%. And what's interesting is, as we looked at kind of why we were maybe in the position we were in, was instead of comfort, we had tried to be a style brand for many years.

7:44So in the past 10 to 15 years, because there were lots of other brands trying to be style brands or were kind of playing in a style space, we thought that we had to kind of make the places where we weren't good better instead of really leaning into our strengths. And so the result of that is it was harder for us. We were never as good as our competitors because it wasn't core to our DNA. and even when we ask people why they're buying us today, it was never about style. It was comfort and it fits my home. It fits my lifestyle. Fit is a big part of that, of course, but comfort was key. And so that's been a big part of this transformation and reinvigoration for us is just stand confidently on what we deliver and what we do best, which is comfort.

8:30And comfort's tricky because it's something that's kind of assumed in the furniture space. So we need to make sure that we had a really compelling and unique way into comfort. And so we've done that through leaning into the idea of lazy. So lazy is an interesting word. It's a word that people, you know, there's good and bad connotations of lazy, but there's a growing conversation around the value of being lazy, the value of taking that time. And so what we're trying to do with Lazy Boy is reclaim lazy as a positive, as a necessary time and part of life as a part of balance too, a deserved moment of rest in a busy life and make sure Lazy Boy shows up as what can be the solution for that, the hero in that moment.

9:21So Long Live the Lazy is a new brand platform that we launched last August of 2023. So it's newer for us, but it really stands on that idea and the insight that rest is necessary and important. and it's something we want to champion as a brand. I know you've done some fun activations as well and I want to get into them. I love the decliner, the decliner. That's awesome. And then the hashtag was band reclining. And then you use the word, which is very compelling about it's sometimes put you and the brand, not you, but the brand in the center of some controversial conversations. Talk to us about that.

9:58Yeah, so Lazy Boy has interestingly always kind of shown up in culture And I guess that's true for a lot of brands. But when I came on, I heard stories about late night hosts referencing the Lazy Boy brand. And usually it's the recliner, right? It was kind of brought to life through the Stranger Things show, Friends. There was a whole kind of recliner scene that's kind of iconic now, definitely iconic with us. And then recently we learned, we read an article that in the Barbie movie, there had been a scene cut from the Mojo Dojo Casa house where they were really going to play up like this room with like the manly recliners.

10:41And I think that's always been interesting for us. We've never really engaged in culture ourselves as a brand or through marketing, but we've seen it play out. But what's interesting about the way it's played out is it reinforces those kind of like older stereotypes of the brand, right? Like it's, you know, maybe not positioning us always in the most positive light. So we kind of ask ourselves and our team the question, how can we be part of that narrative and help shape the narrative in a different way? Kind of aimed at our brand reinvigoration efforts. So you mentioned the decliner, you mentioned banner reclining.

11:16I think what's really worked well with those is, you know, in working with partners, Cole McBoy has been our partner on those two activations. They really helped us identify conversations that were already happening. So for the decliner, it was the idea of, so you've probably heard of FOMO, the fear of missing out. But then there was this kind of bubbling conversation around JOMO, the joy of missing out. And so we're like, yeah, we're a JOMO brand. We are the brand where you want to, without guilt, decline plans, say no, stay in, keep your feet up and eat your snacks in your recliner. So that's exactly what the decliner was built on.

11:58That kind of insight of the conversation that was happening around Jomo, it was celebrating Jomo. And so we created an AI powered recliner that allowed you to decline plans through a text message on your phone at the pole of our handle. So, you know, we got consumers involved in, you know, the opportunity to win one of these decliners. Decliner made its rounds in different places as well. And so got a lot of visibility and conversation going. And I think what's fun to see from an activation like that is a lot of the consumer comments and the connection to like the core idea of what we're trying to do.

12:40Like, yes, I need permission to say no to things. Like I, I believe like I can get behind this. I, I, I love FOMO. I want to continue to celebrate FOMO or sorry, JOMO in my life. Yep. So we're connecting to something that kind of matters to, to consumers and to people in their lives. I think ban reclining similarly. And this one is where it got a little bit controversial because you see it play out on social. There's big debate between whether you should recline on an airplane or not recline. Where do you stand in this debate, Steve? I don't like recliners. I don't recline. Plus the fact that I'm six foot three.

13:22So I don't like when a person in front of you. Sure. And this is, I mean, this is a real debate. If you kind of go digging on social, you don't have to dig too far. But you see, it gets contentious at times. It gets physical at times. We definitely didn't want to be part of that. So we entered that conversation in a very playful way. But as a brand who stands for reclining, we took a stand and said, you shouldn't recline on the airplane. Leave the reclining to your house in the comfort of your Lazy Boy recliner and sign the pledge to ban reclining on airplanes. So that was we launched it during prime travel season through the holidays because we knew that would be a time when people were talking about these conversations would just kind of boil up.

14:08And so it was a relevant time. We got, now I forget the numbers, but an amazing number of signatures and great just kind of impressions and coverage of this activation across the board. You know, we pitched it to airlines as well. We wanted them to kind of be part of our paid strategy and put it on the, you know, on the screens in the backseat. They didn't want to be part of it, which I think speaks to the controversial nature of it, of course. So we placed the paid media in airports. In Times Square, we had an ad and really made it a big conversation through influencers on social as well. I thought it was brilliant.

14:46And the timing was spot on, like you said, during the holidays. Yeah, it was exciting. Really spot on. I want to pivot the topic of brand identity. And as you say, it's driven by strategy. Now, I know you probably can't share a lot because I think you told me it's coming soon. It is. Right? But what you can share, if any, what can you tell us about what's to come? Yeah, I think, you know, for Lazy Boy, brand identity has often been carried or been a partnership with celebrities. So if you look at our history, we have a long history of having a celebrity spokesperson. So most recently it was Kristen Bell.

15:21Before that, it was Brooke Shields. If you go way back, Bing Crosby was there in our past history as well. And if you, and they did a lot of work for us. They were a great megaphone for the brand, helped us when we were kind of orienting in that style area to kind of give us some credibility or a way into that conversation. But I think what we realized is when we stripped away the celebrity and looked at the brand, we're kind of a wallflower. Like we didn't have much distinction and distinctiveness. We fit in with everyone else, definitely in furniture. And we weren't doing much to stand apart.

15:56And so I think part of this brand reinvigoration is standing confidently in comfort, standing confidently behind the recliner, which is something that we kind of shied away from really celebrating in the past too, but it's 50 % of our business. And so we needed to create a confident identity to really fit all of that. And so, you know, our brief to our agency was really to celebrate the comfort that we deliver in our furniture. Bring us an identity. Let's build an identity in a system that feels as comfortable as the furniture that we make and offer. And, you know, really excited about what we've developed.

16:36I think similar to kind of our previous conversation, it connects back to our past because that was a place as well where we said, let's get clear on our core identity, where we started, what needs to remain true as we move forward into the future and what needs to be different. And so what remains true is we're a comfort brand. We want that to be expressed, that warmth and that feeling through the identity. But what we want to make sure is true is that we're a brand of the present. So modernity was important. And then we're a brand that stands out. So distinctiveness was an important aspect of that.

17:11How do we stand apart in a sea of sameness? That's furniture, but also stand apart, again, built on that strategy, that idea with meaning. So we started to kind of pepper new elements of our brand identity into some of the really important initiatives for our organization that represent the future for us. So one example of that is we stood up a test retail experience in Chicago. And so we're using elements of our new brand identity in that test experience right now. We also launched with a brand new partner in the UK. And so to kind of celebrate the newness of that relationship, we said, let's stand that up in the new brand identity.

17:55So we're starting to use it in bits and pieces, but we are really planning for a big launch of that come this summer. So really excited about that and how that will start to influence everything that we do and every way we show up as a brand. That sounds amazing. I want to go back to something earlier where you referenced the average age of your customer has been increasing. How do you get a Gen Z and a Gen Y and a Gen X to be excited about a brand such as Lazy Boy? Sure. Well, it starts, I think, with this consumer work that we've done. So I mentioned that we got clear on kind of the consumer marketplace and we found our people.

18:35So our people, when we think about them, it's not an age range. It's a, you know, we did a psychographic segmentation. So it really is a set of values and needs and wants and lifestyle that really unites the person that we think is the right fit and wants what we offer as a Lazy Boy brand. So I think what's great about that is that it spans generations. So our target consumer is one that looks for comfort above all else. They are busy and plugged in in life, but they recognize the need to rest. They want a home that is meant to be lived in and not just looked at. And they value peace over perfection.

19:15So as you can imagine, that sort of sentiment spans generations. And it helps make sure that we maintain strength with our today's current consumer. We can't walk away from the people who are driving footsteps into our stores and buying us today. But at the same time, it allows us to reach younger and attract new through that same sort of ethos and idea and benefit that we provide to consumers. And I think we've paired that within a modernized, I would say, media plan and strategy that ensures that we are reaching broadly versus just attracting and reattracting the same subset of that consumer target.

20:05Meaning like in the past, we relied heavily on print, even as much as three years ago. Our digital mix was lower. We weren't kind of reaching outside of kind of the most traditional media channels. And so we've really changed the mix quite substantially, driven on the foundation of that comfort message that it has a broad reach. So really through the lens of what we deliver, and we're not after a certain age group, or after that kind of mindset and value system. Gotcha. Interesting. Another shift or a shift that the brand underwent, which is pretty big, but it's getting more and more common, is from going like a manufacturer to a retailer, like a DTC.

20:48Yeah. That's a pretty big shift, right? And especially for a brand that's been known as a manufacturer and you can go to your local furniture store and buy it or a department store or whatever, now you're going DTC, direct-to-consumer. There's challenges there, right? And let's get into what those challenges were, how you became them. What are you seeing in terms of results versus online versus in-store? Sure. Yeah. As you mentioned, we were born as a wholesaler. We sold through partners. And we still do that today. So Lazy Boy's current business is a mix of owned retail. We also have independently owned retail.

21:28So Lazy Boy Furniture Galleries is our retail concept, is our store. And more than half of those are owned corporately, a little less than half owned independently. And then additionally, we still sell through wholesale. So we sell to the Gardner Whites in Michigan and the Rooms to Go in Florida. And that will continue to be our model. But over the past 10 to 15 years, we've really kind of gotten into this retail business. and it's become a much more important in a bigger part of our business. So as you can imagine, big part of the overall volume, but also profit. And so I think what we're recognizing collectively as an organization is we need to make sure we're operating as a retail retailer.

22:14And what we're seeing is not all of our strategies, policies, ways of working have kept pace with the shift in our business. So I think for us, that really means focus on the experience. And you mentioned kind of online versus store. A big part of our work is overarching sort of omni strategy. How do we make sure that there is a connection between site and store? what we know about our shopper is because it's a big purchase, because comfort is number one, because they're not in the market very regularly, online is super important. That's where they're doing a lot of research. That's where they're kind of narrowing some choices or getting clear on what matters to them.

22:57But the store plays a big role. Like 70 % of our shoppers are omnichannel shoppers. So, and then there's a small percent that are store only shoppers, but only a small portion are online only shoppers because the fit test, as we call it, is so important. They're like, I know I want comfort. I know I want certain things, but I need to try it out to make sure I find the one and the right fit for me and my family. So that experience and really paying attention to shopping and how we can simplify shopping, how we can provide an inspiring retail experience has become really important and a focus as we've kind of moved into the past few years.

23:39From a marketing, just a pure marketing perspective, I would imagine to going to a retail environment is part of the way, you know, you're talking about new tools, right? Like a CRM, for example. Yes. Yes. From a, with retail. Yeah. I mean, CRM, very important. I think one of the big things we are working on is connecting our data between site and store. So what we recognize as an opportunity is the disconnect. You know, you can do a lot of online research. But then as you go into store, that kind of history is lost. And we're working hard to remove that barrier so that you are a known shopper, whether you're online and in the store.

24:19And yeah, to your point, that requires technology, that requires data, that requires new capabilities on our team as well. And there are simple things that we just need to catch up on. One of the more recent, which will feel like common sense, we've always had in-stock product. But online, we made it hard for people to find that in-stock product. So we've increased the ability and clarified the path to in-stock versus custom. Custom is a big part of our value proposition, kind of creating what you want out of all of our different options. But in-stock is a compelling value as well to shoppers who need something pretty immediately and right away.

24:59And so some of that work too is just tackling the must-dos that just make shopping lazy boy easier yeah yeah totally i mean it's just it's different things that the brand hasn't really had to think about in the past um when you're just strictly you know a wholesale or manufacturer exactly interesting okay i'm looking at the time it's time and i know you're a fan of this part of my the random five fan or i'm scared of it i don't know you know i promise you it's harmless. I know. Okay. Those that are familiar, I started this maybe three or four months ago, maybe longer. I just pulled five random questions from a massive repository of questions to ask my guests to get to, we can all get to know the guests on a more personal level, right?

25:45And that's it. Here we go. First question. If you could have dinner with your younger self at any age, what advice would you give them? Yes. This is interesting. Interesting question because I have two teenage daughters. And so I find myself now really, we joke about life lessons in our household. So every so often something will happen and I'll pause, I'll be like, kids, this is a life lesson, like X, Y, Z. And of course they roll their eyes and everything. Oh yeah. But I think if I would sit myself down and then again, think about the lessons I try to make sure my kids are learning, man, I wish all of us, I'm sure this isn't just me, could realize that being cool is overrated.

26:27And being yourself is the best pathway to happiness in life. And so that is probably my number one lesson I try to live today. It's still a challenge sometimes to feel like you can just be yourself and kind of lead with your own value set in life. But that's what I hope for my kids as well, is that they can feel confident in who they are and then find spaces and places that support that and welcome that and love that. So I'd say that's probably the biggest one. I absolutely love that. Not to go down this rabbit hole, but I really believe my kids are older, I have a 25 and 20 year old, but pressure and the digital and social media, there's so much competition.

27:11If that's even the right word where you go, I want to be like that. I want to be like, instead of just, no, being very comfortable in your own skin. Yes, agreed. Yeah. Technology is a whole other thing. Parenting never gets easier. I'm realizing. Yes. New challenges, bigger challenges, bigger world to contend with at every stage. Yeah, exactly. Okay. Next question. Who has been the biggest influence in your life and what's the greatest lesson they've taught you? Oh man, I don't know that I can pick one. I think parents are a good place to start. I was, when I was born in my early life, my family had a pretty, what we would call traditional makeup.