Rooted in family
In the fabric of Caplan’s is a business that is rooted in family. In the early 1940’s, Herb Caplan, founder and the namesake of Caplan’s, opened the first store selling furniture and televisions. His son Martin worked by his side from the very beginning and eventually took over the business with his wife Fran years later. Fran and Martin were the dynamic duo that everyone came to expect when they walked through the doors of the store. They complemented one another and together built a thriving business.
The heart of the home
Fran and Martin opened a new storefront in the 1980’s to expand the business and phase out furniture and televisions to solely focus on becoming Toronto’s premier destination for great deals in appliances. They were able to grow the business by selling top tier brands such as GE, KitchenAid, Maytag, and Amana.
Fran and Martin could see that the nature of the appliance business was changing as the kitchen was becoming the heart of the home, the gathering place where family and friends congregated. As a result, more premium brands were entering the market. Caplan’s reacted to this evolution by becoming the proud vendor of brands such as Sub-Zero, Thermador and Jenn-Air.
Three generations
Today, the third generation, Fran and Martin’s son Robert, has joined the family business. He has continued to focus on the sweet spot that his parents had identified as the premium appliance market. In 2009, Caplan’s decided to join forces with Miele and create the Miele Gallery Caplan’s, the first of its kind in North America and in 2016 came the Caplan’s Sub-Zero/Wolf Living Kitchen. Both the gallery and the Living kitchen are truly interactive and immersive experiences that allow our customers to fully experience each product with the promise to both educate and inspire them to create their dream kitchens.
