Retrospective: LAFUMA MOBILIER’s expertise in professional furniture

LAFUMA MOBILIER tells you a story, a story of expertise developing from everyday furniture to professional furniture. Over time, and with feedback, the brand’s expertise has evolved. This thinking has led to the creation of a specific range based on the needs of professionals. Knowing the story of a brand like LAFUMA MOBILIER means you are sure to be making the right choice: a detailed retrospective.

The beginning: the invention of the metal frame

In the early 1930s in Anneyron (Drôme), Victor, Alfred and Gabriel Lafuma converted their tannery following the leather crisis. Shortly afterwards, the first rucksack was created from leather and fabric offcuts. 

But the initial version of the hiking bag lacked support. So the brothers added a metal frame: the hiking rucksack was born, the famous Tyrolean rucksack for which patent no. 0796439 was registered on 17 October 1935.

With this rucksack, we saw the emergence of LAFUMA MOBILIER’s DNA: the combination of resistant metal frames and comfortable fabrics. The brand continued to thrive during the ‘Trente Glorieuses’, the thirty-year period in France between 1945 and 1975 that saw the advent of paid holidays, during which the brand became essential and iconic.

1954: the first garden furniture

It was a winning equation: the first garden furniture designed by LAFUMA MOBILIER used tube technology combined with stretched camping canvas. This innovative collection of nomadic outdoor furniture was conceived, designed and manufactured at the Anneyron factory in the Drôme. What was true in 1954 is still true today!

Focusing everything on practicality and functionality

This garden furniture caused a stir. It was simple, practical and durable, with the possibility of replacing the worn canvas which appealed to consumers. Practicality became the guiding development principle, introduced right from the design stage. 

At a time when cars were becoming more and more widespread, LAFUMA MOBILIER rode the wave of success by offering consumers the ideal furniture to take on holiday. This anecdote is revealing: the specifications at the time stated that the stool and recliner should ‘fit into the boot of a Renault Dauphine’!

And the brand’s motto hasn’t changed. Even today, we constantly strive for functionality and durability in our furniture. LAFUMA MOBILIER develops stackable products that are easy to dismantle and repair. There’s no place for the obsolete.

A promising future for intensive use: from domestic to professional furniture

The brand’s flagship products, such as the deckchair initially designed for domestic use, appeared outside chalets in winter sports resorts in the 1970s. With feedback from professional users, suitable products were created. Leisure centres, campsites and ski resorts were delighted with the reinforced frame and canvas for more demanding use.

Fast forward to 2018. This year saw the creation of a special range of products designed for intensive use in cafés, hotels and restaurants, including comfortable chairs and armchairs and table legs of different heights and dimensions to suit all types of use. 

Over the years, LAFUMA MOBILIER has created a number of flagship products that are still must-haves today. In 1961, the brand launched its Relax Interlude, developed in consultation with the medical profession.

LAFUMA MOBILIER thus became the first home furniture manufacturer to work in collaboration with professionals to design products that are perfectly suited to real-life uses. The gamble paid off, and the optimal relaxation position was invented. 

LAFUMA MOBILIER brought the now-famous English term ‘Relax’ to France. We did it — the concept of professionally endorsed relaxation was introduced to France with the invention of Relax and its Zero Gravity position. 

This is the position that the human body naturally assumes when it is weightless, with the legs slightly above heart level. It was so named by NASA in the 1970s. In reality, the body still feels its own weight, but the sensation of gravity is seven times lower, in the same way as when the body floats on water.

Relax furniture is everywhere

Relax furniture can be taken on holiday or to the office. Professionals and athletes alike have been quick to adopt it. It can be seen on the Paris-Dakar Rally and in the stands at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as on the sidelines of football and rugby stadiums for sports recovery. Nurses bring it to the hospital to improve their comfort... you begin to get an idea. Relax has become THE furniture of choice for recovering from pain, for relaxation, and also for assisting in the early stages of life in neonatology and at the end of life. 

Technology and expertise developed over 60 years

So medicine has made a major contribution to the iconic Relax furniture. Over the years, LAFUMA MOBILIER’s flagship product has been enhanced by numerous patents, which now total more than twenty.

Innovation for greater resistance

In 2011, AirComfort® was the first three-layer padded innovation. It is specially designed for outdoor furniture thanks to its breathable and permeable technical materials. The patent puts Relax at the top of the professional furniture list for companies and local authorities.

The Batyline Duo offers an extra dimension for the hospitality sector. Even more resistant, its drying time is accelerated and no maintenance is required on chairs and armchairs.

Even greater comfort

The brand’s innovations don’t stop there! In addition to the elastic suspensions that connect the canvas to the structure, elastomer clips have been developed. The result is better weight distribution for firmer comfort and perfect back support. An ideal product for professionals.

Innovation and ergonomics are at the heart of the LAFUMA MOBILIER design process

Products undergo extensive tensile, fatigue and UV resistance tests in-house or in the laboratory. So no nasty surprises when you use it. Finally, the brand is committed to strict quality assurance checks to ensure that it has full control over the products it sells. It offers solid guarantees on every product and is able to replace a part within a short timeframe. The quality is up to standard, as evidenced by the low returns rate (0.3%). 

Expertise applied to the needs of today’s professionals

Sixty years later, the sum of innovation, knowledge and feedback has given us the opportunity to create a comprehensive range of products dedicated to professionals.

The hospitality and health sectors: LAFUMA MOBILIER’s primary targets

For the hospitality sector, the collection has been created by designers from the BIG GAME design studio. It still has the same expertise and the same suppliers, but with technology and design to meet professional needs, combining performance and durability.

On the health side, needs have been growing for some years now. LAFUMA MOBILIER professional furniture has gradually established itself in this sector. The Relax Vital chair, for example, is already widely used by reflexologists, in neonatology for skin-to-skin therapy and, above all, for nursing staff to rest. It has a fully waterproof 4 cm clipped mattress. Easy to clean and fire-retardant, the Vital reclining chair also features the Zero Gravity position, helping one to recover, switch off and relax one’s muscles.

With the arrival of Covid, collaboration between LAFUMA MOBILIER, charities and the France Hospitals Foundation has accelerated to provide help to carers. We especially remember the Solidarity with Carers campaign sponsored by comedian Anne Roumanoff. This operation donated RELAX armchairs to carers to help them recover and disconnect.

These testimonies describe it better than we do!

“We chose your chairs. My trainer had tried out other brands and shapes, but they did not recline far enough and were not as comfortable.”

Elise Manzoni, President of the French Federation of Reflexologists (FFR)

“We mainly use LAFUMA MOBILIER products for their quality and long life span. They are used every night, are subject to a lot of stress and can be repaired: it’s a return on investment. And they’re easy to clean and disinfect, which is a real bonus.” 

Nicolas Fitcher, Grenoble Regional Hospital

LAFUMA MOBILIER, a brand that is part of the history of French heritage

LAFUMA MOBILIER’s expertise has made its mark on the history of French heritage, and continues to do so. In 2020, the French government awarded the company the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV – ‘Living Heritage Company’) label.

After decades of development, the brand now dedicates part of its business to professionals, without ever losing its DNA, through six workshops: aluminium, steel, paint, plastics, sewing and assembly. LAFUMA MOBILIER has also retained its original location: parts are still manufactured and assembled at the historic production site in Anneyron, supplemented by the subsidiary Lallemand in the Ain region, and its sourcing is 68% French and 98% European.

More than a brand, LAFUMA MOBILIER is a family business and the fruit of a great deal of expertise and innovation. The basis of every product we sell is uncompromising comfort, durability and ease of use. LAFUMA MOBILIER incorporates knowledge of the professional sector into its design process and is certain the ranges it creates are perfectly suitable for uses and needs.