The first reclining sofa was invented in the United States in 1975. The Chinese reclining sofa industry has mainly experienced two development stages: the initial development stage (1998-2010) and the market expansion stage (2011-present).
Key events in the initial development stage include Man Wah Holdings' acquisition of the Cheers brand in 1998, Man Wah Holdings' listing in Singapore in 2005, and Man Wah Holdings' delisting from the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2009.
Key events in the market expansion stage include Man Wah Holdings' move to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2010, La-Z-Boy's strategic partnership with KUKA Home in 2012 officially entering the Chinese market, Man Wah Holdings' acquisition of a 50% stake in Home Group in November 2016, Sleemon's acquisition of a 51% stake in Milan Impression in November 2017, and KUKA Home's acquisition of 100% of Rolf Benz in February 2018.
From 2014 to 2018, the market size of China's functional sofa industry grew from 5.05 billion yuan to 9.21 billion yuan (based on sales revenue), with a compound annual growth rate of 16.1%. It is projected that over the next five years, the Chinese functional sofa market will maintain a compound annual growth rate of 24.3%, reaching a market size of 27.32 billion yuan in 2023.
In 2024, the overall market penetration rate of functional sofas in China was approximately 10%, with a penetration rate of around 22% in first- and second-tier cities, significantly lower than the approximately 49.7% in the United States during the same period.
In 2024, related products incorporated technologies such as high-legged zero-wall support. In 2025, some products achieved features such as zero gravity and zero wall support. From 2025 to 2026, some brands launched smart sofa products.
On March 22, 2026, Zhivago First Class held a new product launch event in Wuxi, introducing its smart voice-controlled functional sofa series.
