(Bloomberg) — Glosslab LLC, a New York City-based nail salon chain that experimented with a membership-based business model and attracted celebrity investors, has filed bankruptcy.
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The company and its corporate affiliates sought court protection Monday in New York and seeks to sell what remains of the business to VD Brand Holdings Inc., according to court documents. Glosslab CEO Rachel Apfel Glass said in a court filing that the business struggled after a rapid expansion, as well as the March publication of a New York Post article detailing financial problems and a legal fight with European Wax Center founder Joshua Coba, who lent the business money.
Glosslab raised $20 million from businesspeople, celebrities’ and influencers including model Olivia Culpo, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, retired New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire and members of the electronic music group The Chainsmokers. But the company was forced to close all but two of its locations earlier this year and let go of its entire corporate management team, according to court documents.
In court documents, Glass said that earlier this year he began contacting Glosslab’s equity holders and other individuals in the New York business community to drum-up further investments or find a purchaser for the business. After the New York Post article was published and litigation with Coba was resolved, investors who had earlier expressed interest in the business “would no longer entertain partnering in any way, noting the damage to the brand resulting from the litigation and the NY Post article,” Glass said in the court filing.
Filing Chapter 11 gives Glosslab time to complete the proposed sale to VD Brand Holdings. The sale, which must be approved by a bankruptcy judge, would provide for the payment to some creditors and result in the continued employment of more than 50 workers, Glass said.
The case is Glosslab LLC, number 24-12399, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
(Updates with court documents in fourth paragraph)
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