Who Owns CB2?

CB2 launched in 2000 as an offshoot of Crate & Barrel, 38 years after the original brand opened its first store in Chicago's Old Town. The concept targeted a younger, more urban customer than the flagship: apartment dwellers and first-time homeowners who wanted contemporary design at prices below the design-showroom tier.

The first physical CB2 store opened in 2002 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The store format emphasized loft-like spaces, rotating installations, and collaborations with working designers, a template that differentiated it from the parent's more classic American style. Through the 2000s and 2010s the chain expanded slowly, concentrating on dense urban markets in the US and later Canada, while building a substantial catalog and ecommerce operation.

Under Crate and Barrel Holdings, CB2 became known for designer collaborations and limited collections with figures from fashion, music, and interiors. The brand has run partnerships with names such as Goop, Lenny Kravitz's Kravitz Design, Lawson-Fenning, and Ross Cassidy, using capsule collections to keep the assortment fresh and generate press coverage. Its 'After Hours' music-focused event series and design service program CB2 Interiors extended the brand beyond straight furniture retail.

International expansion came mainly through franchise arrangements under the Otto Group umbrella rather than direct ownership. CB2 products reach customers in markets including the Middle East through licensed partners, while the core owned business remains North American. As of 2026 the brand operates roughly two dozen stores across the US and Canada and has grown into a meaningful contributor to Crate and Barrel Holdings' estimated revenue.