Kaplan launches upholstery mfr. Urban Living 21
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, January 2, 2005
Vernon, Calif. — Industry veteran Steve Kaplan has launched Urban Living 21, a maker of casual contemporary and transitional upholstery at middle price points.
The company, based here, will show at the winter San Francisco market in space 567 of the San Francisco Mart's Mart 1.
A partner in the enterprise is Joe Epel, president of Tempo Inds., also based in Vernon, which sells bars, barstools, pub sets and dining furniture. While "there may be some synergies in the future," the upholstery company will function as a freestanding unit, Kaplan said.
In San Francisco, Urban Living 21 will show 16 sofas and four sectionals, with accompanying loveseats, chairs, occasional chairs and accents. Retail targets for sofas range from $999 to $1,499; sectionals are $1,999 to $2,999. In all, there are some 140 SKUs.
Kaplan said the look would be refined and tailored. "We're going after the better end of the trade, the young, affluent customer who likes clean design, the person who likes shopping at Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel," he said.
What will set Urban Living 21 apart is "a compelling quality story," he said. "We're building a product on the West Coast that you typically have to go East for." Frames will be in one-piece construction in either alder or poplar, with tapered backs.
Urban Living 21 took over in June an empty 50,000-square-foot building, expandable as business grows. Kaplan said the company already has customers in Southern California, and has a sales force for the targeted 11-state Western region. The company also can handle major accounts throughout the United States, he said.
"We're already selling and we've had a good reaction," he said.
Kaplan spent 15 years at Rowe Furniture, where he was product development director, and about that many years in textiles. More recently he was executive vice president of Bradley Home, a mid- to upper-priced line.
"I'm very optimistic that in year one we should do very well," Kaplan said. "I'm not putting a number on what we hope to be able to do. I'll take it a day at the time and grow intelligently. We're going to target the good people in the industry who pay their bills and are looking for good value that they can pass on to their customers."
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