Birmingham's Viral Bullring store shuts suddenly, leaving its staff jobless with "no warning or pay"

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Viral make-up brand store in Birmingham closes abruptly leaving customers and staff confused

A popular cosmetic brand in Birmingham’s Bullring has closed its doors. The store, located on the middle floor near Marks and Spencer, has posted a sign stating it is “closed for refurbishment.”

The closure comes just weeks after another cosmetic giant, Sephora announced it would soon open in the Bullring.

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Morphe, which opened its Birmingham Bullring store in 2019 with YouTuber James Charles cutting the ribbon, causing a viral moment with the crowd in excitement, has removed its standalone branches from its online store locator.

This includes its first UK store in Westfield Stratford, opened in 2018, and six other UK branches.

The brand now only lists its make-up counters in Boots, Superdrug, and selected Selfridges, H Beauty, and Flannels stores. The closure, effective from July 31, resulted in 73 employees being made redundant.

Morphe, which opened its Birmingham Bullring store in 2019 closed its doors, unexpectedlyMorphe, which opened its Birmingham Bullring store in 2019 closed its doors, unexpectedly
Morphe, which opened its Birmingham Bullring store in 2019 closed its doors, unexpectedly | Google Maps

A spokesperson from Forma Brands, Morphe’s parent company, told Retail Gazette: “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 ecommerce operations.

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“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.”

They continued: “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.

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“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.”

Former employees have criticized the brand on social media for the lack of communication regarding the closures.

This move follows the brand’s decision to close all its US stores in January 2023 and Forma Brands filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy shortly after. In March 2023, Forma Brands reached an agreement with its lenders for $690 million in debt relief.

Morphe, once valued at $2 billion, faced challenges due to reduced demand for colour cosmetics and controversies involving influencers Jeffree Star and James Charles

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