La-Z-Boy’s Heritage Furniture Brands: A Comprehensive Guide to American Drew, Hammary, and Kincaid

La-Z-Boy Southeast | September 25, 2025

La-Z-Boy transformed from a recliner company into a comprehensive furniture manufacturer through strategic additions. These brought together some of America’s most respected La-Z-Boy furniture brands. Today, the La-Z-Boy Casegoods Group encompasses three distinctive brands—American Drew, Hammary, and Kincaid. Each has its own rich heritage, specialized expertise, and commitment to quality craftsmanship. These La-Z-Boy furniture brands represent decades of American furniture-making tradition, now unified under one trusted company.

The Strategic Vision: Building a Furniture Empire

La-Z-Boy’s journey from recliner specialist to full-home furnisher began in earnest during the 1980s. The strategy reached its peak with a major purchase in 1999. The company’s strategy was clear: purchase established brands with strong reputations, complementary product lines, and loyal customer bases. This would create a comprehensive furniture portfolio.

American Drew: Traditional Elegance Since 1927

Heritage and Acquisition

Founded in 1927, American Drew is a well-established, leading manufacturer of mid-priced bedroom, dining room, and living room furniture. La-Z-Boy’s vision to expand into home furnishings led to bringing American Drew into the La-Z-Boy family of brands. American Drew had previously been part of LADD Furniture, formed in 1981. LADD’s name came from three companies: Lea, American Drew, and Daystrom. In September 1999, La-Z-Boy recognized the value of LADD’s established furniture brands. The company acquired LADD, bringing American Drew’s nearly 75 years of furniture-making heritage into the La-Z-Boy family.

Quality and Craftsmanship

American Drew has built its reputation on delivering quality furniture in the mid-price segment, making traditional and transitional styles accessible to a broad range of consumers. American Drew’s product collections cover a broad variety of style categories including traditional, transitional and contemporary. The brand’s headquarters are located in Hudson, North Carolina, maintaining its connection to the furniture-making heritage of the region.

Signature Collections

American Drew’s most iconic collection is Cherry Grove, which has become legendary in the furniture industry. Since 1960, The Cherry Grove Collection, has blended new and old adaptations from 18th century with higher end traditional styling. Georgian, Edwardian, Sheraton along with Queen Anne elements create this beautiful assortment of furniture. Their collections range from the legendary 18th Century traditional “Cherry Grove” to modern and contemporary furniture offerings with the launch of AD Modern. Cherry Grove is celebrating its 59th year.

The Cherry Grove collection exemplifies American Drew’s commitment to timeless design. It uses cathedral cherry veneers, rubberwood solids, and select hardwoods. These create furniture that serves as both functional pieces and potential family heirlooms.

Hammary: Occasional Excellence Since 1943

Heritage and Acquisition

Hammary Furniture was founded in North Carolina in 1943 by Hamilton Louden Bruce. After eight years of working with furniture manufacturers in the Carolinas and Virginia as a sales representative of Reliance Varnish Company and Central Glass Company, he decided to try his hand at furniture manufacturing. La-Z-Boy went on to acquire Hammary Furniture, a manufacturer of residential tables and upholstery manufacturer, in September 1986.

The company’s name has a charming origin story. It derived its name from Hamilton (Ham) and his wife Mary (mary). What began as a modest operation manufacturing canvas-covered lawn chairs for $15 a month rent quickly evolved into something much more significant.

Evolution and Specialization

Late in 1947, Mr. Bruce dropped the lawn chair line and began to manufacture a group of occasional tables. With a briefcase full of sketches, Mr. Bruce made a quick tour of Eastern retail furniture outlets and came home with $200,000 in orders… this before the first sample tables were made at the plant.

This entrepreneurial spirit set the foundation for what Hammary would become: a specialist in occasional furniture with an emphasis on quick delivery and comprehensive inventory management.

Quality and Service Philosophy

Hammary Furniture Company, a division of La-Z-Boy Furniture, is a service-oriented company. In order to offer rapid shipment of orders, we maintain a large inventory of occasional tables, entertainments, and accents. This service-first approach has remained a cornerstone of the Hammary brand for over 80 years.

Signature Collections

Hammary’s Hidden Treasures collection has become one of its most beloved offerings. Hidden Treasures by Hammary is a wide-ranging collection of accents that can add the flavor that makes the room. With inspiration found from cultures around the world, this remarkable collection of home accent furniture offers individual personality and a unique sense of style.

The brand also offers the innovative Structures collection, which offers a unique built-in look for creating a bookcase, entertainment wall, or other living room cabinetry. What sets the Structures Wall System apart is its ability to create a finished look, avoiding the uneven joints of multiple pieces while tailoring the wall system to each individual space.

Kincaid: Solid Wood Excellence Since 1946

Heritage and Acquisition

J. Wade Kincaid started the business in 1946 in North Carolina to produce solid wood cedar chests and wardrobes. He was soon approached by a customer to produce solid mahogany bedroom sets. Kincaid grew under Steve’s leadership with his keen vision for merchandising and marketing and, in 1989, the company was acquired by La-Z-Boy.

The acquisition brought not just a furniture company, but a philosophy and a family legacy that would significantly influence La-Z-Boy’s approach to wood furniture manufacturing.

The Solid Wood Commitment

What sets Kincaid apart in today’s furniture market is its unwavering commitment to solid wood construction. While several enhancements have been made since our beginnings in 1946, we still use solid wood construction, time-tested joinery techniques, and hand-rubbed finishes to craft our wood furniture.

Kincaid contains no veneer, no particle board, and uses edges shaped from solid wood. Kincaid’s case construction features mortise and tenon joinery, a time proven method of assembling two parts at 90 degree angle. This commitment to traditional construction methods ensures that Kincaid furniture can truly become family heirlooms.

Quality and Construction Excellence

Kincaid Furniture Company is the industry’s leading manufacturer of Solid Wood Furniture. We have been manufacturing heirloom quality solid wood furniture since 1946. The brand’s dedication to quality extends beyond materials to encompass traditional joinery techniques that have proven their worth over centuries.

To make furniture that lasts for generations, Kincaid solid wood construction uses time-tested joinery techniques such as mortise and tenon, tongue and groove, dove-tailing and floating panels and tops.

Manufacturing Philosophy

At Kincaid Furniture, things are made the way they used to be, they may even be a little better. This philosophy extends to both their wood furniture and upholstery operations. Over the past 30 years, our upholstery operations in western North Carolina have built quality, bench made upholstery one piece at a time.

The La-Z-Boy Casegoods Strategy: Consolidation and Management

In 2010, La-Z-Boy merged the management of Hammary with that of sister companies American Drew and Lea to consolidate the casegoods segment. This strategic consolidation allowed the company to achieve greater efficiency while maintaining the distinct identity and specialization of each brand.

Late in 2014, La-Z-Boy announced the closing of Lea after an unsuccessful attempt to find someone to buy the company. The High Point office would continue operations for American Drew, Hammary, and Kincaid. This consolidation strengthened the focus on the three remaining casegoods brands, each with its clear market position and specialty.

Today’s Portfolio: Complementary Excellence

Today, these three brands operate as the foundation of La-Z-Boy’s casegoods division, each serving distinct market segments and style preferences:

• American Drew continues to excel in traditional and transitional bedroom, dining room, and living room furniture, with their legendary Cherry Grove collection leading the way in accessible luxury.
• Hammary maintains its position as the go-to source for occasional tables, entertainment centers, and accent pieces, with rapid delivery and extensive inventory remaining core competitive advantages.
• Kincaid stands as a beacon of solid wood furniture excellence, offering heirloom-quality pieces built with traditional joinery techniques and hand-rubbed finishes.

The Legacy Lives On

Each of these brands brings decades of furniture-making heritage to the La-Z-Boy family. American Drew’s 97-year history, Hammary’s 81-year journey from lawn chairs to luxury accents, and Kincaid’s 78-year commitment to solid wood excellence combine to create a portfolio that can truly furnish every room of the home with quality and style.

Under La-Z-Boy’s stewardship, these brands have maintained their individual identities while benefiting from the resources and distribution network of a major furniture manufacturer. The result is a collection of brands that honor their heritage while continuing to innovate and serve contemporary furniture needs.

Whether you’re drawn to American Drew’s timeless traditional styling, Hammary’s unique accent pieces, or Kincaid’s solid wood craftsmanship, each brand offers a distinct path to creating beautiful, lasting furniture for your home—backed by the reliability and reputation of the La-Z-Boy family of companies.

Experience These Heritage Brands in Person

Ready to discover the quality and craftsmanship of these heritage furniture brands? Visit any La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery location to see American Drew, Hammary, and Kincaid collections up close. Touch the solid wood construction, examine the hand-rubbed finishes, and experience the attention to detail that sets these brands apart.

Our knowledgeable interior designers are available at every location to help you create the perfect look for your home. For any of our wood collections, we can work with you to custom order finishes that match your unique style and décor. From traditional stains to contemporary colors, our designers will help you personalize these heritage pieces to perfectly complement your space.

Schedule a consultation today and let our team help you bring decades of American furniture-making tradition into your home.