Shoppers mourn 'the death of good taste'

But now Habitat is to disappear from our high streets, marking the end of an era for shoppers inspired by its iconic style.

Home Retail Group, which owns Homebase and Argos, is to buy three of the brand's London outlets, and may continue selling Habitat-branded products online. But the other 30 shops, including those in Edinburgh and Glasgow, are likely to close after the firm fell into the hands of administrators.

Set up in 1964 by designer Sir Terence Conran, the chain has been hard hit by the recession and the slump in home renovations, as well as competition from cut-price rivals such as Ikea - whose parent company owned Habitat for eight years before selling it to the current owner, private equity firm Hilco.

The news sparked a strong reaction, with retail guru Mary Portas bemoaning the closure on Twitter.

"I agree its been a long time since Habitat was brilliant," she said. "Some private equity running it without vision or taste has led to this. Its (sic] sad".

Leigh Sparks, professor of retail studies at Stirling University, said Habitat had "radicalised British design".

He went on: "It showcased British design which was interesting and different - it was a big contrast to post-war rationing and everything which went with it, which had continued into the 1950s.

"People will say they miss it - but its sales have not been good for some time. Like Woolworths, people think of it as a national icon, but when did they last buy anything there?"

Habitat was the pioneering "lifestyle" store, combining fashionable furniture, art, music and cooking products for the first time. It sold products based on Conran's designs, later bringing in guest designers such as shoe creator Manolo Blahnik and hat designer Philip Treacy.

Conran - who lost control of the company in 1990 after floating it on the London Stock Exchange a few years earlier - has claimed the main reason for the shop's initial success was that Habitat was one of the few places that sold cheap pasta storage jars, just as the market for dried pasta took off in the UK.

Brand expert Charlie Robertson, of Glasgow-based Red Spider, said he believed Habitat had failed to adapt to find its niche in the new world of furniture retail. Habitat entered the online shopping market very late - launching its website in November 2009 - while it has generally stuck resolutely to high-street locations, often off the beaten track of city centres, rather than embracing an out-of-town model.

"It was just caught in the middle," he said. "The likes of Ikea came along and other companies like John Lewis had good products, and the problem was that the quality wasn't sufficiently better for people to pay the higher prices. They also had stores in the wrong places and just did not adapt to the idea of online retail."

He added: "In a way, it is a wonder that it has lasted this long."

Zolfo Cooper, the firm appointed as administrator, said it would assess all options and keep the stores open as it tried to find buyers. But it is unlikely the chain will be rescued, putting 900 jobs at risk. Habitat admits a return to profit "appears unlikely in the near term", while it is thought Home Retail Group will own the brand name, and the London stores. This would make it difficult for a new buyer to run the stores.

It is thought Habitat products could be sold through concessions in selected branches of Homebase. "It will be interesting to see how they place the Habitat brand next to the likes of Argos and Homebase," Mr Robertson said. "Those brands are just a world away from the edginess Habitat had in the beginning."

But Terry Duddy, chief executive of Home Retail Group, said research had shown a strong overlap between buyers of Homebase and Habitat products.

In Europe, however, things look brighter - and the Habitat name, owned by Home Retail Group only in the UK, may live on. The company said Hilco was in talks with another party to sell its profitable international business - it has 27 stores in France, six in Spain and five in Germany.

Hilco acquired Habitat in 2009 from the Ikano Group, the company founded by the Kamprad family, which owns Ikea.

It was reported last year that US homeware icon Crate and Barrel - which has been compared to Habitat for its role in the style revolution - could be eyeing a move to Britain, after it opened its first store outside of the States, in Dubai.

Winning ideas

Over the course of its near 50-year lifetime, Habitat has brought a range of iconic products to the British public.

It is said to have been the first store to introduce the duvet to the UK in the mid-1960s, offering an easy alternative to the complicated sheet, blanket and quilt set-up previously utilised by British householders.

A few years later, its "chicken brick" terracotta pot revolutionised the Sunday roast for a generation of 1970s families. The firm brought back the product in 2004 - and sold out within hours at some stores.

In 2004, the chain asked 22 celebrities to design a product to sell in Habitat stores.

One of the best known was the Manolo Blahnik steel shoe horn, selling at a mere 25.

Fashioned to represent the shape of a stiletto, the sleek design was snapped up by shoppers who were keen not to use it for its intended purpose, but to display the chic product as an ornament.

As part of the same initiative, supermodel Helena Christensen designed a 40 flower-shaped table light and Scots actor Ewan McGregor created a director's chair from fold-up canvas and wood. He claimed the chair, which was inspired by long stints sitting in uncomfortable directors' chairs, was more comfortable than the traditional models.