The Conran Shop

Recent comments

Conran's was a brilliant concept 15 years ago, but in the years since, there are many, many retailers that have come along that do it better for the same price or less. They simply haven't kept up with a rapidly shifting market. A decade or two ago, cutting edge contemporary furniture was hard to find, slow to evolve, and cost a fortune. Now you have easily accessible companies like CB2 and West Elm doing major line revisions two or three times a year to keep things fresh at a price no one could have imagined in 1999. You have boutique manufacturers like Blu-Dot and Mash Studios selling directly to the public or widely available at independent stores. You have companies like Jesse Italia and Camerich importing quality, lower cost versions of high end Italian design. You have contemporary fashion names like Calvin Klein moving into the department store furniture section of Macy's. Even the high priced european big boys like B&B Italia and Ligne Roset have stepped up their game with faster and bigger line revisions (to keep the "knock off" trade on their toes) and a more aggressive outreach to the buying public.

Yet, at Conran's, its really as if not a day has gone by. Their prices, editing, and presentation have all been exceedingly slow to evolve. And that's too bad, because there was a day when they set the bar. RichardinLA on Mar 26, 2009

Conran's was a brilliant concept 15 years ago, but in the years since, there are many, many retailers that have come along that do it better for the same price or less. They simply haven't kept up with a rapidly shifting market. A decade or two ago, cutting edge contemporary furniture was hard to find, slow to evolve, and cost a fortune. Now you have easily accessible companies like CB2 and West Elm doing major line revisions two or three times a year to keep things fresh at a price no one could have imagined in 1999. You have boutique manufacturers like Blu-Dot and Mash Studios selling directly to the public or widely available at independent stores. You have companies like Jesse Italia and Camerich importing quality, lower cost versions of high end Italian design. You have contemporary fashion names like Calvin Klein moving into the department store furniture section of Macy's. Even the high priced european big boys like B&B Italia and Ligne Roset have stepped up their game with faster and bigger line revisions (to keep the "knock off" trade on their toes) and a more aggressive outreach to the buying public.

Yet, at Conran's, its really as if not a day has gone by. Their prices, editing, and presentation have all been exceedingly slow to evolve. And that's too bad, because there was a day when they set the bar. RichardinLA on Mar 26, 2009