Morphe Makeup closing; Here’s why

The world of cosmetics is not that shiny decorated when one of its leading retailers has to pack up and simply close all its physical outlets. Yes, you heard it right when you heard Morphe Makeup closing all its outlets in the US. Here’s why –

On Thursday, the beauty retailer’s Twitter account posted a tweet that mentioned the closing of their retail stores throughout the U.S. And that the decision is effective immediately. The tweet describes the decision to be “difficult”. But that’s not enough, is it? Why exactly did Morphe close down?

Morphe Makeup stores outside of the US are not closing down

But before we get there, it helps to note that the entirety of Morphe is not closing down. Oh no no, it’s only their US retailers. Their tweet mentions this – that all outside US stores will remain open. Even certain select retailers within US will remain open. But their primary mode of business will now shift primely to the online front. Their online store is not going to shut off.

What Morphe’s spokesperson had to say about it

Wow MORPHE IS CLOSED. I’m here at morphe and the doors are closed! #morphe #makeup pic.twitter.com/UfnjtDlTrz

— richlux713 (@RichLux713) December 30, 2022

A recent report by INSIDER claims that Morphe’s parent company FORMA Brands spokesperson told them that it’s a strategic decision.

Their claim is that the brand’s decision for the same is to shift its focus onto the online segment and to be primarily wholesale-oriented.

“Connecting with consumers around the world through beauty stands at the center of everything we do, and while we have loved welcoming customers into our stores, we look forward to focusing on the foundational areas of our business, including our wholesale partnerships, robust e-commerce footprint, and innovative brand marketing strategy.”

Said the statement written in an email to INSIDER. 

The beauty words of companies are not very telling of why they are closing down

We have made the difficult decision to close all Morphe stores in the U.S. We are forever grateful to our store teams for their passion, talent and dedication over the years.

— Morphe (@MorpheBrushes) January 5, 2023

But that’s just fairy tale company writing that’s nothing short of literary antics. What’s exactly going on here? Companies are anyway very witty with words. “Connecting with consumers around the world through beauty” is one such espoused bull that their PR gimmick has to pull off.

And these gimmicks are not limited to just Morphe Makeup. It basically surrounds all frontiers companies of the capitalist system.

And this is exactly why people want to see, know and understand why exactly they are doing what they are doing. And not some philosophical gist about how beauty connects the world.

So Why is Morphe Makeup closing?

• Now here’s the alligator in the lake – Morphe has a sound history of collaborating with influencers and famous personas. But beneath its extravagant layoff lies an empty shell. And I mean this quite literally. 

What have the empty Morphe stores been indicating?

Multiple TikTok videos roam the Internet that describes their stores being empty from around October-Nov. The employees who made the videos claim of their non-knowledge as to why there’s no object to sell in the inventory.

Yikes! James Charles finally addresses his morphe contract and palette! Drama.#jamescharles #morphe #makeup pic.twitter.com/l8u6ie25js

— richlux713 (@RichLux713) July 25, 2022

• Multiple US Stores in Morphe have surprisingly been closing down even before this mass close-off announcement. The store managers had it rough, but the ex-employees had it harder. Multiple reports claim of Morphe stores being laid off by the end of the last year.
• Add that to the fact that many of Morphe’s stores even before this mass layoff were emptied. Emptied in the literal sense of not having any products at all. Only empty shelves and containers in the store, and zero to no buyers.

Parent company is bankrupt

One potential reason for such empty shelves may be because Morphe’s parent company allegedly CONSIDERED filing bankruptcy earlier. Not only that, they have been doing this huge 80 % off sales which made no monetary sense. 

A business fallout

Morphe, other than its empty shell, has also closely acquainted itself with famous personas. Although such a pull-off may have only worked against their reputation. Their involvement with Jeffree Star and James Charles has only brought them a bad reputation.

A lot of beauty gurus that used to push Morphe’s products have gone terribly downhill. Add it to a lot of scandals, a falling brand reputation, a shortage of supply, and a declining profit. You have the perfect recipe for business bankruptcy. 

SOURCES: Insider, WWD