An iconic makeup shop has announced that it is closing all of its UK stores with immediate effect – including a shop in Manchester Arndale.
Los Angeles-based beauty brand Morphe, which has worked with influencers such as Madison Beer, Bretman Rock and Charli D’Amelio over the years, has closed seven stores across the UK and laid off 73 staff.
Confirmed closures include the ground floor store at the Arndale, which opened five years ago. Stores in Glasgow, Stratford, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and Newcastle have also been closed, and a branch in Amsterdam has also been shut.
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Forma Brands, Morphe’s parent company, said the move came because the chain was “faced with disproportionately high store rent obligations” and the company would now shift its focus to wholesale and online sales.
Former employees and customers of the makeup brand, known for its palettes, eye shadows and lip liners, expressed their frustration over the decision on social media.
One person wrote: “My friend who works at Morphe just told me she has been made redundant because they are closing all UK stores without notice. What happened to the shop owner?” Another posted: “What do you mean all Morphe stores in the UK closed today without notice?”
Another said: “I’ve heard from colleagues that Morphe is laying off its staff in the UK without warning or pay. Morphe was once a huge giant in the makeup world, now it seems it has just disappeared.”
In a sympathetic message, another person wrote: ‘I am so sorry to all the Morphe employees in the UK who were made redundant today without warning and I hope you all find new work quickly.
Parent company Forma Brands said it was making “exgratia payments” to all staff following the announcement. Morphe makeup counters in stores such as Boots, Superdrug and Selfridges are unaffected and will remain open.
A spokesperson for Morphe’s parent company said: “Forma Brands has made significant progress over the past year in positioning our business for growth by focusing on our flagship brand, Morphe, primarily through our wholesale and e-commerce operations.
“During this period, our own Morphe stores in Europe, which have always provided an exceptional experience to our customers, were faced with disproportionately high store rental obligations.
“We have therefore taken the difficult decision to close our seven UK and one Amsterdam retail locations. This move is in line with our strategy to prioritise and grow our successful wholesale and e-commerce operations, similar to our model in the US.
We have also facilitated a change of ownership of our UK wholesale and e-commerce business, which will now trade under the name FORMA BRANDS UK LTD.
“We are immensely grateful to our incredible store teams for their dedication and passion over the years and are working to support them through this transition. Due to store closures, impacted store team members have been laid off immediately.
“In recognition of their efforts, the parent company Forma Brands LLC has made goodwill payments to all affected employees, equivalent to an increased severance package.”
In a similar statement, Morphe added: “Given the challenging retail environment in the UK and disproportionately high rents, we have taken the difficult decision to close our eight Morphe-owned stores in the UK and Amsterdam.
“We are immensely grateful to our incredible store teams for their dedication and passion over the years and are working to support them through this transition.”
In January last year, the cosmetics brand closed all of its US stores before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its parent company Forma was later bought out by Morphe’s major creditors.
The full list of Morphe stores to close is:
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Glasgow
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Located in Stratford, the hotel is just a 10-minute walk from Stratford Train Station and 1.7 km from The Mall.
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Liverpool
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Cardiff
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Birmingham
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Manchester
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Newcastle
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Amsterdam
