At the tail end of 2019, Ogawa introduced 3 new models, all three of which are variants of current or recently discontinued models.

A little background first. Ogawa, Cozzia, and JPMedics are all chairs lines that are part of the same corporate umbrella and are all built in the Ogawa chair factory in China (formerly known as EasePal). Cozzia has been in the USA for awhile now, having assumed the sales infrastructure of an older, less popular massage chair line known as Berkline. The Berkline chairs were also built in the Ogawa (aka EasePal) factory. Cozzia’s prime distribution strategy was to get their Chinese-made chairs in brick & mortar stores throughout the country. They have a huge US distribution network as a result of that effort.

As Cozzia was developing their offline store strategy, more and more online companies (like Massage Chair Relief) were inquiring about selling their chairs on their websites. To be true to their offline dealers, they did not acquiesce to what I’m sure was relentless requests from ecommerce businesses for online distribution. Instead, and in response to the online demand, they developed a new line to be sold primarily through online channels. This new line was known as Ogawa massage chairs. We began carrying the Ogawa chairs on our website and in our new California showroom when they first came to market. They had similar features to some of the Cozzia models, but were, for the most part, quite different. They have become increasingly popular with newer models over time.

Then, along came the JPMedics line with it’s flagship chair, the Kumo (JPMedics was originally called Fujimedic, but had to be changed to accommodate some registered trademark conflicts). This chair is another online offering and is very similar to the Cozzia QiSE. We have it in each of our showrooms.

Although we now have 3 brick & mortar showrooms, you may wonder why we still don’t carry the Cozzia chairs in our our stores or on our website. The reason for that is because they require that we carry a minimum of 4 of their models in each of our showrooms to qualify for the right to carry them on our website. Up to this point, we have chosen not to carry that many Cozzia models in our stores. That may change in the future, but for now that is how it is. I will be visiting with Cozzia this week at the Las Vegas Furniture Market and hope to see if they have anything new up their sleeve for businesses like mine.

Well, enough of that. Let’s talk about the 3 new Ogawa models:

1. Ogawa Active L Plus – this is an upgrade to the popular Active L model. This is a very good brand-name option for around $3K. Although the chair has seen some minor upgrades, the price has remained unchanged. Here are those changes:
   • 3 memory programs.
   • Leg scan (not just electronic control of the ottoman from the remote control).
     • Language settings – 5 languages (English, Spanish, French, Vietnamese, and Chinese).
2. Ogawa Stretch 3D – prior to the Stretch 3D, we had seen the Smart 3D and the Touch 3D, both of which have not been discontinued. The new Stretch 3D has the same silhouette/body design as the Touch 3D, but includes these additional features:
   • Upgraded roller massage mechanism (it now has the 4D Vario Motion feature that was available on the now discontinued Cozzia Qi and is currently part of the Ogawa Master Drive AI feature-set…more below!).
   • Updated massage auto programs, including 4 new stretch programs. Everyone asks about stretch programs nowadays. This model caters to the stretch-loving crowd.
   • New colors – all black with silver accents and all white with gold accents.
   • Additional airbag compression in the seat and lower back to accommodate the new stretch programs.
   • 3 custom memory programs.
   • Electronic ottoman with Smart Sense air cell technology.
3. 

   Ogawa Master Drive AI

   Ogawa Master Drive AI – this is a beautiful high end massage chair. The
   silhouette/body design is almost exactly the same as the JPMedics Kumo, but the color options are beautiful and it is a technologically rich massage chair. Although I will be doing an in-depth review of the AI in the near future, I thought I’d list a few of the interesting features here:

   • 3D/4D rollers, including the 4D Vario Motion dial on the right arm rest.
   • Samsung tablet comes with the chair and you operate the chair from an Android app that you download onto the tablet. The app allows for greater versatility of the chair’s programming.
   • Chair Doctor Biometric Health Tracker – The Ogawa Master Drive AI comes with a sensor that you hold in your left hand, which allows the chair to measure certain body biometrics, i.e. perspiration, tension, pulse, and oxygen saturation so that the massage experience can be more uniquely personalized to the body type of the user.
   • Alexa & Google Voice Compatible– Simply speak into your designated Alexa or Google enabled device and tell your chair what you want it to do. Very sophisticated voice response technology now available.

Well, that just about does it for today. I hope you learned some good stuff today about the Cozzia/Ogawa/JPMedics massage chair lines and the latest and greatest model upgrades.

Dr. Alan Weidner

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