SOLA Group

What SOLA Group does

SOLA Group, Inc. is a privately held, Chicago-based business-to-business media company that targets four professional audiences in the U.S. residential design and construction industry: architects, custom builders, remodelers, and kitchen & bath designers. The company operates as a platform of three legacy trade publications — Kitchen & Bath Design News (the self-described leading voice and only BPA-audited kitchen/bath trade publication), Qualified Remodeler (a remodeling industry publication operating since 1975), and Residential Design (the sole national professional magazine focused on residential architects and custom builders) — collectively positioned against a roughly $700 billion residential design and construction addressable market.

The underlying technology is a multi-channel content publishing platform: audited print magazines, responsive brand websites, email newsletters, webinars, and in-person events, including Kitchen & Bath Design News' six-city educational seminar series and Qualified Remodeler's Top 500 LIVE! two-day conference. The company maintains an exclusive research alliance with the Research Institute of Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), deep institutional ties to NARI (the founding of which the SOLA founder helped lead) and NAHB Remodelers, and a 2022 webinar partnership with Houzz. Content production is supported by an editorial team of roughly a dozen named staff across the three brands.

The business model is advertising-driven across six distinct revenue streams: print advertising, online advertising, newsletter advertising, email marketing services, webinar sponsorships, and event sponsorships. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is sold direct to advertiser clients. The company is owner-operated by Paul DeGrandis (President/Sales Director) and Patrick O'Toole (EVP/Editorial Director), with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or subsidiary relationships. Geographic footprint is entirely domestic (United States), and total headcount is reported in the 11–50 range.

Name

SOLA Group

Legal name

SOLA Group, Inc.

Website

https://solabrands.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SOLA Group is a privately held Chicago-based b2b media company that publishes three trade brands — Kitchen & Bath Design News, Qualified Remodeler, and Residential Design — serving architects, custom builders, remodelers, and kitchen/bath design professionals in the U.S. residential construction industry via print, digital, webinars, and live events, monetized through advertising and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Media and Trade Publications

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Home, Garden & DIY Magazines (MPAJAEAG)

Keywords

• Business media publishing
• Trade publications
• B2b advertising services
• Residential construction media
• Kitchen bath design

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Print Advertising: Print advertising in audited publications including inserts, tip-ins, outserts, bellybands and gatefolds. Publications are audited by Alliance for Audited Media to provide trusted audience data.
2. Online Advertising: Run-of-site leaderboard and rectangle-sized ad positions on brand websites, plus welcome ads, page peels, and wallpaper options for high-impact impressions.
3. Newsletter Advertising: Advertising positions in industry newsletters including top leaderboard, rectangle, and native marketing styled ads highlighted as sponsored content.
4. Email Marketing Services: Targeted email marketing campaigns using industry professional lists, plus Product and Video Showcase newsletters.
5. Webinar Sponsorships: Brand sponsorship and content creation for industry webinars, including marketing presence and registrant list access as lead source.
6. Event Sponsorships: Sponsorship of live events including Kitchen & Bath Design News seminars and Qualified Remodeler Top 500 LIVE! conferences with promotional inclusion and lead generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SOLA Group, Inc. operates a portfolio of three B2B trade publications — Kitchen & Bath Design News, Qualified Remodeler, and Residential Design — serving architects, custom builders, remodelers, and kitchen & bath design professionals. The company monetizes its audience of verified residential design and construction professionals by selling advertising and sponsorship placements across print magazines, brand websites, email newsletters, targeted email marketing, webinars, and live events.

Product overview

SOLA Group Inc. is a business media company operating as a platform of three core branded publications—Kitchen & Bath Design News (monthly magazine for kitchen and bath design professionals), Qualified Remodeler (trade magazine for remodeling professionals since 1975), and Residential Design (magazine for residential architects and custom builders)—supplemented by advertising and content services (print, online, newsletters, email marketing, webinars, and live events).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kitchen & Bath Design News (KBDN): The leading media brand for the nation's kitchen and bath design trade, considered the voice of the kitchen and bath industry.
• Qualified Remodeler
• Residential Design

Products and services

• Kitchen & Bath Design News (KBDN) Monthly trade magazine for kitchen and bath design professionals, offering BPA-audited circulation and the largest targeted qualified readership in the kitchen and bath trade, with market insights delivered via an exclusive alliance with the Research Institute of Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI).
• Qualified Remodeler Trade publication serving remodeling and home improvement professionals since 1975, offering business education and information on estimating, pricing, design, and product trends; recognized as the No. 1 media brand serving remodeling.
• Residential Design The sole national professional magazine focused exclusively on residential architects and custom builders, covering design trends, building products, entitlements, and the business of residential construction.
• Print Advertising Print advertising placements in BPA-audited publications with options for inserts, tip-ins, outserts, bellybands, and gatefolds, available to advertisers reaching residential design and construction professionals.
• Online Advertising Run-of-site leaderboard and rectangle ad positions on brand websites, plus welcome ads, page peels, and wallpaper options for high-impact impressions to residential design and construction audiences.
• Newsletter Advertising Advertising placements in industry newsletters with top leaderboard, rectangle, and native marketing styled ads highlighted as sponsored content, delivered to opted-in industry professional inboxes.
• Email Marketing Services Targeted email marketing campaigns leveraging SOLA's industry professional lists, including Product and Video Showcase newsletter options to reach residential design and construction audiences.
• Webinars Brand-sponsored webinars with industry experts delivering market data and trends to residential design and construction audiences; sponsors receive branding across marketing materials and access to registrant lists as leads.
• Live Event Sponsorships Sponsorship of in-person events including the Kitchen & Bath Design News six-city educational seminar series and the Qualified Remodeler Top 500 LIVE! two-day conference for remodeling professionals, with inclusion in promotional materials and access to registrant leads.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest circulation among kitchen and bath trade publications
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Research Institute of Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive alliance providing timely, actionable market insights to Kitchen & Bath Design News readers through RICKI's kitchen industry research data.
• Alliance for Audited MediacoreOthersPublications audited by Alliance for Audited Media to provide verified audience data that advertisers can trust for campaign planning.
• National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOLA Group's founder Dave Sauer helped launch NARI. Qualified Remodeler maintains strong support for NARI and other industry peer groups including NAHB Remodelers and Certified Contractors Network.
• HouzzminorGTM or Marketing PartnerQualified Remodeler and Kitchen & Bath Design News partnered with Houzz to present a webinar series in 2022 focused on remodeling research and design trends.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zonda (formerly Hanley Wood): Zonda is the largest B2B media and data company in the residential construction sector, publishing Builder, ProBuilder, and Remodeling magazines, among others. It directly competes with SOLA's three trade titles in the same kitchen/bath, remodeler, and custom-builder audiences, making it the closest comparable peer.
• The Taunton Press: Taunton Press publishes Fine Homebuilding, Kitchens & Baths, and Fine Gardening, serving the same residential design and custom-building professional audience as SOLA's publications. Its long-tenured trade titles and reader-supported content model are closely comparable to Qualified Remodeler and Residential Design.
• Active Interest Media: Active Interest Media operates a portfolio of enthusiast and trade titles including Old-House Journal, Garden Design, and Custom Builder, monetizing audiences across print, digital, events, and lead generation. Its multi-brand, audience-based publishing model and overlapping residential design verticals make it a direct comparable to SOLA Group.
• Sandow Design Group: Sandow Design Group is a design media and events company that publishes Interior Design, Metropolis, and Luxe, and operates major industry events. It overlaps with SOLA's residential designer and custom-builder audience through its design-trade content and live event business.
• SGC Horizon (Building Design+Construction): SGC Horizon publishes BDC Network and other construction trade titles serving architects, builders, and remodelers, providing the same BPA-audited print and digital advertising platform SOLA offers. Its audience overlap with SOLA's architects/custom builders and shared go-to-market make it a direct peer.

Broad incumbents

• Informa: Informa is a global B2B media, events, and data conglomerate with deep exposure to trade shows, digital media, and professional audiences across multiple industries. While it does not specialize in residential design, its scale and integrated events-plus-publishing model shape the competitive environment SOLA operates in.
• Emerald (Emerald Holding): Emerald is a B2B media and events operator with trade publications and live events across multiple verticals. Its portfolio approach and reliance on integrated print+event monetization parallel SOLA's model, even though it does not focus on residential design.
• Questex: Questex is a B2B media and events company operating trade publications, conferences, and lead-gen programs across professional verticals. Its integrated media-plus-events revenue model and advertiser-driven approach closely mirror SOLA's go-to-market.
• EnsembleIQ: EnsembleIQ is a B2B media company operating trade publications, research, and events across retail, technology, and design verticals. Its audience-based, multi-channel monetization strategy is structurally similar to SOLA's, even though it does not directly overlap in residential design.

Emerging players

• Houzz: Houzz is a digital platform connecting homeowners with design and remodeling professionals, and is a documented partner of SOLA's Qualified Remodeler and Kitchen & Bath Design News. It increasingly competes for the same audience and advertiser dollars but with a marketplace and software model rather than traditional media.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sola-group-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SOLA Group