Tall people can buy off-the-peg suits that fit them, so can plus-sized people, because brands know there’s a demand from these consumer groups. There are, in fact, specialized apparel stores for tall/plus-sized people.
You would think similar options will exist in furniture brands. But they mostly don’t. Chairs or sofas that tall or plus-sized people find comfortable to use are hard to find, not just in midmarket furniture stores but even at the upper end of the market, offline or online.
This is a big, tall market gap waiting to be filled by enterprising brands.
Whether at homes or in offices, almost all furniture, even high-end ones, are built keeping average size in mind. It’s plain simple logic though that a work chair or a recliner that’s okay for a 5’7’’ can be extremely discomfiting for a 6’5’’.
True, majority of chairs, sofas etc anywhere are used by people of average height and the market caters to the preponderance of the average, like in so many other product categories. But it’s also true that were furniture brands to make a little extra effort for tall and plus-sized people, the minority consumer segment will happily pay the premium sellers may charge.
Engineering-wise, making furniture for tall and big people isn’t much of a challenge for furniture brands. Basically, for, say, a 6’5’’ person, a quality chair should ensure his feet rest comfortably on the ground, that is, without him having to bend his knees, and that his head and lower back should have enough support. Much of these can be achieved by reengineering an average chair with extra adjustable knobs.
Knobs are the big thing here – the few brands that do cater to tall and large people all offer chairs with a number of adjustable knobs. Knobs are a low tech, low cost, and high-efficiency solution – and it’s, therefore, all the more surprising why all furniture brands don’t roll out products for tall and large people.
Sofas, the standard comfort seating solution, present a slightly bigger challenge when it comes to being designed for tall people. The three key metrics in designing sofas are the height of the back, the seat depth, and the seat’s height from the floor. And given that people widely use sofas for stretching out, the length is also a factor.
Sofas obviously can’t be adjusted and therefore comfort seating for tall people will be a small niche market. But, again, given how uncomfortable a 6’5’’ is in a sofa designed for a 5’7’’, the tall customer will happily pay a premium to at least buy suitable furniture for his own home. The sight of tall people wriggling on sofas which are too low for them, with their knees high up should tell furniture makers there’s a market waiting for them.
Again, engineering is simple. A sofa for a tall person, those researching body types and furniture say, should be around 23-25? deep, the seat height should be in the 15-20? range and seatback should be around 36? A 6’5’’ should have a sofa that’s 75’’ long – if he wants to stretch out.
Clothes, including high-end fashionable clothes, for tall and plus-sized people, became a successful niche business once brands recognized there was a special demand to cater to.
Furniture brands have an even bigger incentive. Typically, furniture upgrades or changes, whether in offices or at homes, happen relatively infrequently. Finding another market, catering to non-average frames, will add to the topline.
Those tall guys will be your delighted customers if you can cater to comfortably seating their extra inches- that’s the long and the short of it for furniture brands.
