Morphe has shuttered its UK stores effective immediately to focus on its online and wholesale business.
The viral US make-up brand has closed its seven standalone stores in UK cities Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle.
A total of 73 employees were made redundant.
This news comes a year after parent company Forma Brands shuttered Morphe’s US stores as part of its new plans for the business.
The UK closures are part of the company’s strategy to “prioritise and expand” its wholesale and e-commerce operations.
“Forma Brands has made significant progress over the last year, positioning our business for growth by focusing on our flagship Morphe brand largely through our wholesale and e-commerce operations,” read a statement from Forma Brands.
“During that time, our owned Morphe stores in Europe, which have consistently provided an extraordinary experience for our customers, faced disproportionately high store rent obligations.
“We have therefore made the difficult decision to close our seven UK… retail locations.
“We also facilitated an ownership transition of our UK wholesale and e-commerce businesses, which will operate as Forma Brands UK Ltd, effective immediately.”
One Morphe retail location in Amsterdam has also been shuttered as part of the move.
Forma Brands added that “goodwill payments” have been given to all affected employees, “equivalent to an enhanced redundancy package”.
Morphe is known for collaborating with influencers on exclusive make-up collections and palettes, which helped build its appeal on social media.
The brand is still available to buy via UK retailers Boots and Superdrug, and selected Selfridges, Harrods and Flannels stores.
The UK closures come after a turbulent time for Forma Brands, which owns Morphe, Morphe 2 and Bad Habit.
The US cosmetics company entered into bankruptcy in January 2023 before being acquired by lenders and additional investors three months later.
Cliff Moskowitz was also named Forma Brands’ new CEO.
The beauty incubator then sold off Ariana Grande's r.e.m. beauty’s assets, which it owned, to the singer for US$15m.
Forma Brands-owned make-up brand Jaclyn Cosmetics further announced it was shuttering in January 2024 after less than five years in business.
Founded by beauty influencer Jaclyn Hill, she said she had not “properly nurtured” the brand since its debut in 2019.
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