Although Adidas traded over the unit’s two floors, Morphe’s agents have applied to Newcastle Council for planning permission to convert the outlet into two separate entities. Whether the company intends to sub-let one unit, or open a retail unit with a dedicated beauty salon alongside hasn’t been divulged.
Morphe was founded by brother and sister entrepreneurs Chris and Linda Tawil in Burbank, US, in 2008, as a small store selling only high quality make-up brushes at affordable prices to retail outlets and make-up artists. However, getting any new cosmetic product established in la-la land, was always going to be an uphill struggle. The company added cosmetic colour pallets for eyes and lips to its range, and started looking at other ways to promote their products.
In 2013, YouTube was beginning to show its true potential for reaching the masses, with Instagram, (established in 2010) not far behind. The Tawil pair also noticed the growth opportunities of these, and other, social media platforms. By now, the top social media models and cosmetic gurus were already beginning to build up followings in their hundreds of thousands, and provided an opportunity not to be missed in the beauty world.
Morphe began offering to supply these make-up artistes with brushes and pallets, in exchange for product testing online and reviews. Within a short space of time, Morphe began forming collaborative partnerships with some of these models, and the Morphe Babes were born. Male, female and transgender social media stars began using and endorsing the company’s products worldwide. Online sales began to rocket, and in 2018 Morphe began to look at bricks and mortar properties to expand their growing empire.
Using data gathered from its online sales, the company now has retail outlets around the world, including the US, Arab Emirates, Canada, and the UK. With stores established in London, Birmingham, and Liverpool, the Newcastle store will be the UK’s fourth, with plans to open a fifth in Nottingham before the end of the year. Morphe’s beauty products are also available in a selection of well-known high street beauty and fashion stores around the UK.
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Raspberry Pi are to open a store in the university city of Cambridge, veering away from the increasing retail trend toward online. Cambridge is significant as this is where the Raspberry Pi pocket computer was designed.
