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Viral beauty brand Morphe suddenly shuts ALL UK stores including Manchester

Dozens of staff were made redundant immediately.

Daisy Jackson - 2nd August 2024

Cult beauty favourite Morphe has suddenly shuttered the doors to all of its stores across the UK, including here in Manchester.

The brand has had a large presence in the Manchester Arndale shopping centre since late 2019, opening to huge crowds at the time.

But this week, the doors to its make-up store in the city centre (as well as its six other locations across the UK) have closed.

The viral brand will continue to trade online and as a concession in other stores.

Many have taken to social media to criticise the way the physical store closures have been handled, with dozens of staff members saying that they were made immediately redundant with ‘no notice’.

Some stores have also already been cleared of stock, with reports that some of the viral Morphe products are already being sold off at beauty outlets.

The LA-born brand was created in 2008 ‘among the artists and influencers’ and was originally famed for its brushes before branching out into other make-up products, like its cult favourite colourful eyeshadow palettes.

At the height of its popularity, Morphe was behind sell-out collections with the likes of Jeffree Star, James Charles and Jaclyn Hill.

Morphe in Manchester Arndale has closed, along with its six other beauty stores in the UK. Credit: The Manc Group

Morphe opened in Manchester Arndale in 2019. Credit: Publicity picture — Morphe in Manchester Arndale has closed, along with its six other beauty stores in the UK. Credit: The Manc Group

In a statement, the company said: “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.

“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 and one Amsterdam retail locations. This move aligns with our strategy to prioritize and expand our successful wholesale and e-commerce operations, similar to our model in the U.S. We also facilitated an ownership transition of our UK wholesale and e-commerce businesses, which will operate as FORMA BRANDS UK LTD., effective immediately.

“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 were made redundant immediately. In recognition of their dedication, the parent company Forma Brands LLC has provided goodwill payments to all affected employees, equivalent to an enhanced redundancy package.”

Featured image: Publicity picture