Viral make-up brand Morphe closes all UK stores - Retail Gazette
Morphe has shut down all of its individual stores in the UK in order to concentrate on selling their products through other retailers and online.
It is known that the popular makeup company, which was once a trendy and popular brand, closed all seven of its stores on Wednesday (31 July), resulting in 73 employees losing their jobs immediately.
Morphe, which launched its inaugural UK store at Westfield Stratford in 2018, has taken down the individual stores from its online store finder. Instead, they are now focusing on their makeup counters located within Boots and Superdrug, along with specific Selfridges, H Beauty, and Flannels stores.
A representative from Forma Brands, the company that owns Morphe, spoke to Retail Gazette and shared that they have made great strides in the past year to prepare their business for growth. They have put a strong emphasis on their Morphe brand, especially through their wholesale and online sales.
At that time, our Morphe stores in Europe that we own were dealing with a significant challenge. The store rents were much higher than expected, even though they always worked hard to give customers a great experience.
As a result, we have to make the tough choice to shut down our seven stores in the UK and one in Amsterdam. This decision is in line with our plan to focus on and grow our wholesale and online sales, like we do in the U.S.
"We also helped with the transfer of ownership of our wholesale and e-commerce operations in the UK. They will now be known as FORMA BRANDS UK LTD."
We want to thank our amazing store employees for their hard work and enthusiasm throughout the years. We are committed to helping them during this time of change. Unfortunately, due to store closures, some team members have been let go.
“To show appreciation for their hard work, the main company Forma Brands LLC has given additional payments to all impacted workers, similar to a more generous severance deal.”
Ex-workers went on TikTok and X (previously known as Twitter) to express their dissatisfaction with the company for not communicating properly about the closures.
I just found out from my friend who works at Morphe that she's been laid off because all UK stores are closing down suddenly. What's going on with that place?
Rewrite the blog entry in simple English using different words: "????????. (@tbankss_x) on July 31, 2024" (Note: The original tweet does not provide much information for a full rewrite in simple English, but the above statement captures the essence of the message.)
Hearing from coworkers that Morphe is laying off its UK employees without any notice or compensation.
Morphe was once a dominant force in the makeup industry, but now it appears to have significantly declined in popularity.
- God's preferred emo - Yasminesummanx tweeted on July 31, 2024
The store closures come after the company decided to close all its US stores in January 2023 to concentrate on its wholesale and online sales.
However, soon after the announcement, Forma Brands, the parent company of Morphe, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In March 2023, it was announced that the company had made a deal with its lenders Jefferies Finance and Cerberus Capital Management to be acquired in exchange for $690 million in debt forgiveness.
Morphe, previously worth $2 billion, has faced challenges in recent years because there isn't as much interest in colorful makeup.
It expanded quickly due to its collaborations with beauty influencers Jeffree Star and James Charles, but ended their relationships with Star due to accusations of using racist and offensive language, and with Charles due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
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