Morphe Shuts US Stores As Its Social Media Hype Fizzles Out — Retail Bum

Beauty brand Morphe is set to close all its 20 stores in the U.S., the company announced.

“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,” said Morphe in a statement via Twitter.

Morphe rose to fame thanks to its powerhouse partnerships with social media influencers such as Jeffree Star and James Charles, who both contributed to the brand’s revenue which amounted to roughly $400 million in 2019, according to a company presentation from December 2021.

However, both team-ups ended after Star was accused of using racist language in 2020, and Charles was accused of sexual misconduct in 2021.

Forma Brands, the parent company of Morphe, generates about 80% of its sales from Morphe, but its revenue has suffered since the end of its partnerships with Star and Charles. In 2021 alone, Forma missed its revenue goals by about 20% as its revenue tied to Charles, Star, and Jaclyn Hill plummeted by 66% to $32 million in the first 10 months.

Photo credit: Morphe

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on January 9, 2023.