Updated: Beauty’s biggest brand closures and administration troubles in 2026 so far

By Alessandro Carrara | Published: 6-May-2026
Finance Retail

The tough economic challenges from last year have bled into 2026, as hair care brand Adwoa Beauty and shopping network QVC join beauty businesses Malin + Goetz and Gwen Stefani’s GXVE, which have either closed or been placed into administration

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After a tough 12 months in beauty last year, 2026 is proving no less tumultuous for brands amid a slew of closures and administration filings in just the first half of the year.

It was most recently revealed that Adwoa Beauty, the prestige textured hair care brand, is set to enter liquidation after filing for bankruptcy last year, while 40-year-old shopping network QVC has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings.

It follows Malin + Goetz closing all of its UK stores, AS Beauty shuttering both CoverFX and Mally Beauty, and Claire’s UK collapsing into administration in January – although the latter is set to make a high street comeback in June with 50 stores. 

Not to mention Gwen Stefani’s cosmetics line Gxve Beauty, rumoured to have closed after four years, and Sak’s Global filing for bankruptcy under the financial strain of its Nieman Marcus takeover.

Beauty brands are being “squeezed from every direction” in 2026, says Alex Brown, Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyer at law firm Freeths.

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