B-Y # 548 "Laredo" Varitilt Chair and Ottoman

In married cover promotional leather 9851-88

I'm trying to bring in more Bradington-Young into my store because the price points are better than Hancock & Moore and customers are complaining somewhat of the H&M prices. To that end I wanted to get this # 548 Laredo combo tilt back as I can price it at $ 1,626 for the chair and $ 618 for the ottoman to complete with the H&M # 2038NB / # 8131NB Austin High Back Tilt Chair and ottoman, which is appx $ 500 more on the chair and $ 100 more on the ottoman in a similar leather in my store. This is the # 1 selling tilt back unit for B-Y and has been for years, and it sits very well, however I'm unimpressed with a few things about it:

1) Actuator Mechanism for the tilt function : Its a lever inside between the seat cushion and the arm, and is awkward to operate and tends to bind on the seat cushion. The outside release on the H&M unit is easier to activate and use.

2) The side to side flex on the back of this chair is border-line unacceptable. When out of the lock position and into the tilt mode, I can rack the back on this side-to-side nearly 2"" vs 1/2" on the H&M piece. That's a LOT of play that could possibly lead to alignment issues as the chair ages. The H&M piece is much tighter and more solidly built.

3) The tailoring on the back is unimpressive. Look at a photo of the back of the H&M piece and compare. Whereas the H&M looks fully finished in the back, this one looks like it was just finished without much thought give to walking up to the back of the piece.

The H&M 2038NB Austin High Back Tilt Chair continues to dominate this segment for comfort and build quality. Yes, it does cost more, but very well may be worth the extra outlay, at least in my opinion.

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