CB2
CB2
Est. 2000
About
CB2 is a modern furniture and home decor retailer based in the United States. It was launched in 2000 as the contemporary sister brand of Crate & Barrel, opening its first store in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighbourhood. The brand was created to serve a younger, urban customer who wanted design-led furnishings at accessible prices, distinguishing it from the broader, more traditional Crate & Barrel assortment. Today CB2 functions as a dedicated modern furniture label within the wider Crate & Barrel business. The company's corporate operations sit within Crate & Barrel Holdings, whose legal entity is Euromarket Designs Inc., headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. Ownership rests with the Otto Group, a privately held retail and commerce group based in Germany. The Otto Group acquired a majority stake in the Crate & Barrel business in 1998 and became the sole owner in 2011, which places CB2 under German ownership while it continues to operate from the Chicago area and trade under its own brand identity. CB2 operates as a retailer that designs much of its range in-house rather than as a heritage manufacturer. The brand develops its own modern furniture, contemporary home furniture, lighting and decor, and sells these through a network of physical stores across the United States and Canada alongside an e-commerce site at cb2.com. Many products are scaled and configured for smaller footprints, reflecting a focus on apartment furniture and city living, with multifunctional pieces and compact silhouettes featuring prominently in the catalogue. Because the assortment is curated and refreshed on a seasonal basis, the brand is better described by its categories and design direction than by a fixed set of long-running flagship models. The aesthetic is contemporary and minimalist, leaning more modern than the parent brand. Materials commonly include metal, glass, marble, wood and upholstery, and collections tend to emphasise clean lines and a streamlined, urban look. Core product categories span seating and sofas, dining and tables, bedroom furniture, storage and shelving, lighting, rugs and textiles, decor and tabletop, and home office furniture, along with an outdoor furniture range for patios and balconies. This breadth allows the brand to furnish an entire modern home or apartment from a single retailer. A recurring part of CB2's strategy is collaboration with outside designers, studios and consumer brands to produce limited or seasonal collections. Publicly documented partnerships include collections developed with the Los Angeles label Fred Segal, with the magazine GQ and with the lifestyle brand goop, as well as a long-running design partnership with the Spanish studio Mermelada Estudio. The brand also runs a "Designer Collective" programme that features work from a rotating group of independent designers. These collaborations are described here in general terms, as the specific pieces within them change over time. In terms of market position, CB2 sits in the mid-range of the home furnishings sector. It is positioned above budget, flat-pack focused retailers in terms of design intent and material quality, while remaining more affordable and more accessible than dedicated high-end design houses. This middle position is central to the brand's appeal: it offers contemporary, design-conscious furniture aimed at younger professionals, first-time furniture buyers, renters and urban households. The emphasis on apartment-appropriate scale, modern styling and a curated catalogue distinguishes it within the broader Crate & Barrel family of brands. For shoppers and researchers, CB2 is most accurately understood as a modern home and furniture retailer rather than a manufacturer with a defining back-catalogue of named classics. It combines in-house product development, a curated seasonal range, physical retail showrooms and online sales, all under the ownership of the Otto Group and the operational umbrella of Crate & Barrel Holdings.
Specifications
- Price Range
- $$
- Founded
- 2000
- Headquarters
- Chicago, United States
- Certifications
- FSCGREENGUARD GoldOEKO-TEX
Resources
Common Questions
CB2 is part of the Crate & Barrel business, whose corporate headquarters is in Northbrook, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. The brand itself originated in Chicago, where its first store opened in 2000. It operates stores across the United States and Canada from this corporate base.
CB2 was launched in 2000 as the modern sister brand of Crate & Barrel. Its first store opened that year in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighbourhood. The brand was created to reach a younger, more urban customer than the original Crate & Barrel concept.
CB2 is known for modern and contemporary home furniture, lighting and decor aimed at urban and apartment living. Many pieces are designed at a compact scale and are often multifunctional to suit smaller spaces. The brand is also recognised for its seasonal designer collaborations and a generally mid-range price point.
CB2 is owned by the Otto Group, a privately held retail group based in Germany, through Euromarket Designs Inc. and Crate & Barrel Holdings. The Otto Group acquired a majority stake in 1998 and became the sole owner in 2011. CB2 continues to operate under its own brand name from the Chicago area.
CB2 products are sold through the brand's own physical stores across the United States and Canada and through its e-commerce website at cb2.com. The brand designs much of its range in-house and sells directly to consumers. furniture.directory is an independent directory and does not sell furniture directly.
CB2 is the modern, contemporary-focused sister brand of Crate & Barrel and was launched by the same company in 2000. Both brands operate under Crate & Barrel Holdings (Euromarket Designs Inc.), which is owned by the Otto Group. CB2 generally targets a younger, urban audience with a more modern aesthetic, while Crate & Barrel covers a broader and more traditional range.