The retail sector has faced a combination of ailments that have forced businesses into out-of-court financial restructurings, reorganizations through bankruptcy filings, and sometimes the closing of operations.
Retailers have faced rising costs from inflation, increased interest rates, consumers’ changing attitudes toward discretionary spending, and fierce competition from rival companies.
The beauty and cosmetics retail subsector has not been immune to the economic issues causing financial distress. Iconic cosmetic retailer Avon Products in August 2024 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it was buried in $1 billion of debt and faced hundreds of lawsuits related to asbestos exposure from its talc products.
Related: Popular beauty technology company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Avon reached an agreement with its parent company Natura & Co. on the sale of its non-U.S. operations in bankruptcy, which closed in December 2024.
Another cosmetics icon, Revlon, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2022, facing $3.3 billion in debt, increased competition, and supply chain issues.
Revlon exited bankruptcy in May 2023 after eliminating about $2.7 billion in debt and handing control of the company to its prepetition lenders.
More recently, beauty technology company Cutera, a leading provider of aesthetic and dermatology solutions, on March 5, 2025, filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy seeking to reduce its debt by $400 million and raise $65 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its prepetition lenders.
Cutera expects to exit bankruptcy in 60 days through a prenegotiated restructuring plan as a private company. Its entities outside the U.S. are not included in the bankruptcy.
Award-winning cosmetics brand SBLA Beauty files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Photo by Mark Gunter/Getty Images for Art Hearts Fashion)
SBLA Beauty files for bankruptcy to reorganize its business
Finally, the parent company of award-winning cosmetics company SBLA Beauty has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its business and restructure its debt.
Related: Major hospital chain owner files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The Boca Raton, Fla.-based skincare and beauty products manufacturer filed its Subchapter V petition on March 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, listing $500,000 to $1 million in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities.
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SBLA Inc. specializes in non-invasive anti-aging solutions, such as its Eye Lift Wand, which won a Beauty Innovation Award for Eye Treatment Product of the Year, and its Neck, Chin & Jawline Sculpting Wand XL, which won a Beauty Innovation Award for Anti-Aging Tool of the Year, according to its website.
SBLA’s Liquid Facelift Wand was named as a Vogue magazine Pick, and its Limited Edition Double The Plump Lip Plump and Sculpt was named a People magazine Pick.
The company also markets wellness supplements, such as Illumin8 Gummies.
Beauty brand relies on its e-commerce model
SBLA’s products are marketed as scientifically-proven alternatives to cosmetic procedures, with the tagline “Where science meets beauty.” The cosmetics company maintains a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business through its website SBLA.com
Company founder Randi Shinder entered the beauty industry in 2002 and had great success after introducing the first-ever lip plumper, “LipFusion,” which sold 3.2 million units at Sephora in its first nine months of business, according to SBLA’s website.
Shinder created the Fusion Beauty brand, which was the first brand to exceed 50 million in sales at Sephora in the U.S. By 2009, Shinder sold all the equity in Fusion and launched SBLA Beauty in 2018.
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