Autor: Mark Frazer

Sometime in 1971 Stressless furniture introduced the first recliner that was designed to meet your body's needs in the way of support and movement when seated. It became an international success from it's charachteristics, as the recliner was a revolution for Stressless furniture in comfort and functionality. Due to two patented features this recliner is the only one of its kind in the market and is regarded as the ultimate recliner. It is separated by two systems, one being the glide that follows your every movement and the other looking at correct neck and lumbar support known as the plus system.

Having been founded in Norway, by 1980 sales exceeded 100 million (Norwegian Kroner) due to an unconditional success of the comfort the product supplied, and by 1981 the wooden base was introduced as the first model with this characteristic, making it known as the Stressless furniture Royal Recliner. This recliner is still one of the best sellers in the market today. Next came the launch of the patented plus system in 1991, a whole decade later. In this time Ekornes had grown to an international market and been awarded several prizes including the Norwegian Export Prize. The patented plus system consolidated its position as the most comfortable swivel recliner. This was mainly due to it's pioneering automatic adjustment of the lumbar support and headrest, making it the first chair that people could watch tv and read whilst leaning back.

1993 saw the launch of the Stressless sofa based on the idea that people need to be able to move individually just as much when sitting in a sofa as in a recliner. By 1996 this idea was then rolled out using the same design in two or three different sizes. It became known as a sofa that took into account comfortability for all people no matter their shape or their size. The next milestone came in 1999 when the company decided to enhance the plus system and add an extension known today as the sleep function. This mechanism added to the headrest enabled the user to choose where the headrest would be positioned, yet again this was a pioneering innovation and it all started with Stressless furniture.

In order to move the company forward in 2001, the Ekornes Collection, and indeed Stressless, realised that matching designs creates new opportunities and therefore this idea began to be produced. By combining fixed back features and reclining in an integrated layer the idea hit worldwide and sales exceeded 1 Billion (Norwegian kroner) Due to this success, in 2003 the company launched a tailor made home theatre and in 2004, with a brand new factory which today is one of the most modern furniture factories in the world and a re-design of the logo, new branding was rolled out. Also at this time, Stressless Furniture, production capacity increased substantially through advanced use of robotics. 2005 saw the introduction of Stressless paradise, the first low back sofa with all the trademark features. At the same time a roomy and comfortable corner solution known as Ekornes fairy tale was launched and both products became popular worldwide.