The Napert family has come a long way from their hometown of Beauce. La Place, part of the Livingchy group, is now firmly established throughout Quebec and plans to conquer the United States next year thanks to its flagship product, the wall bed.
“The pull-out bed, our mainstay for the American market, is very underutilized relative to population density. The opportunity is great and we believe we can stand out,” says Livingchy Group President Kevin Napert.
Make the mattress “cool”
He and his brothers Jonathan and Stéphane have been in the mattress and bed business since they opened their first store in La Place, Rue Bouvier, Quebec in 2005. They now have 12 stores in all parts of the province.
The brothers Stéphane, Jonathan and Kevin Napert (from left to right in the photo) have big plans for the future of the Livingchy group, better known as La Place. Photo Vincent Desbiens
The siblings grew up in retail. Her father Gilles was the manager of Meubles Napert, a large store based in Sainte-Marie in Beauce. The three men decided to start their own business after their father’s business closed.
“There were just three of us when we started: the two of us were in the back, in the offices and in the warehouse, then I was a salesman… so I had all the pressure,” jokes Jonathan Napert, the vice president and general manager of the family business. This first customer didn’t know it, but she really had to buy her mattress!”
The Naperts agree that it was their “desire to sell mattresses” that allowed them to stand out from the big names in the furniture industry.
“Often the mattress department in big stores was in the back and the salespeople didn’t bother to go there. Our first customers said, “It’s refreshing, you know your stuff and your business is attractive,” says Kevin Napert.
Next came the Murphy bed. In particular, it is thanks to the growth of this product, which allows you to customize the space according to your wishes “without sacrificing comfort”, that the Livingchy Group aims to be internationally successful.
Saturated production
While the pandemic brought them wealth, the three brothers acquired Quebec carpenter Signature Cuisines AC and furniture maker Évolutek, whose factory is in Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon.
It was therefore necessary to bring together all these new specializations under the same name: Livingchy Group.
“We had control over design and marketing, but now we really hold all the cards,” argues Stéphane Napert.
The company has invested several million dollars in the factory acquired in 2022, with the aim of tripling its production in the coming years.
It now boasts “the most advanced manufacturing facility in the wall bed industry in North America.”
Stéphane (left), Jonathan (center right) and Kevin (right) Napert pose with their mother Diane Guay and father Gilles in front of their brand new robotic cutting machine that recently arrived from Germany. Photo Stevens LeBlanc
“In every recession or crisis there is an opportunity for some. Given the uncertainty, we could have waited to see what would happen after the pandemic, but we preferred to accelerate online sales and we put all our efforts into growing the company,” explains Jonathan Napert.
The Livingchy Group is currently negotiating to open a La Place boutique in New York or Boston.
In addition, the company is the furnishings supplier for more than 3,000 residential units under construction across Quebec and hopes to further expand its commercial component.
Much
Who inspires you? Our father. He was always there to help us and share his experiences with us. He was the one who showed us everything and gave us his values.
Entrepreneurship is…? Innovate. For us it is essential. Even when things are going well, we are constantly trying to figure out what we can do better.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be…? The war. We see it with Israel versus Hamas. There are so many other, more important issues to deal with right now than beating each other over the head.