Our La-z-boy sectional has held up very well, no problems at all, but purchased it in 2000. Perhaps the quality has declined since then.

I wasn't familiar with HM Richards and I decided to look it up. It sounds pretty good in the mid price range. The have a plywood frame and a drop in coil spring unit. They don't have a down blend cushion option but the cushions sound well thought out, they have a three ply foam core with a "low melt" foam on the top and bottom of the main core. Companies often used layered foam on top with a soft "IFD" to soften the seat. I prefer a single foam slab of high quality foam which can have a softer seat if the foam is good. In my opinion the softer tops in mixed slabs can break down over time. All that being said I am not exactly sure what foam they are using and maybe they have discovered something I don't know about it. I would say all in all it sounds pretty good. If you are getting a reclining sofa it wouldn't have a coil spring drop in unit but a mechanism.