January 26, 2018

Kiko Files for Bankruptcy and Closes Most US Stores

Affiliate
I receive a small commission if you shop through my link.

kiko tropic heat cheeks and lips stick

Kiko has filed for bankruptcy and plans on closing all but five of their US stores. I imagine this includes the store in the Palisades Mall I originally wrote about back in 2015 but I haven’t been to the Palisades in a while so I can’t confirm. It’s with a heavy heart that I write about this news today as I’m truly a huge fan of Kiko’s products especially their seasonal, limited edition releases.

Moving forward they’ll likely retain their online business and at least five of their domestic stores will remain open. It comes as no great surprise they plan to close store locations though since mall traffic is at an all time low due to online sales especially around the Holidays when most shopping is done. Video killed the radio star as they say. Currently they have 29 US stores and plan to close 24 as of February 28th.

Apparently their online sales are steady and even increasing in 2017 and they also sell through amazon.com now which means you can take advantage of Prime Free Shipping.

So, it is quite sad news they are closing store locations but don’t worry it looks like the online sales force is strong.

I know I don’t want to see Kiko disappear anytime soon as their collection are very appealing to those who like higher-end makeup at a budget price and that’s exactly what they deliver to us.

Thanks to Brian for sharing this news yesterday via a comment. Right now not a lot of news outlets have covered the story so without him mentioning I might have never known.

What do you think of Kiko closing stores?

Do you shop at their stores often?

I’m guilty of doing 99% of my own Kiko shopping online!

46 Comments

Affiliate
I receive a small commission if you shop through my link.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • MJ

    Hey Muse! Your IG selfie today was super cute! I got serious Vanessa Hudgens vibes. Hope you’re doing well <3

    • Isabella Muse

      omg no but thank you my ego is now super stroked and I love you even more than I did before 😀

  • Sarah

    I am so happy that the online sales look good and that you can still buy online, but brick and mortar stores are quickly becoming a thing of the past because of us. We love convenience. We love sitting in our Pikachu onesies (okay, this is specific, this is me) and ordering makeup online because we don’t have to get dressed, get in the car, drive to the store…

    I really try to make an effort to go to stores because I want to support brick and mortars but at the end of the day I’m just too tired and it’s far easier to click. 🙁

  • Jane

    I’m losing my appetite for online shopping, especially in regards to makeup. I never pulled the trigger on Kiko because I wanted to see it in person, but I never lived anywhere near a store.

    I miss bricks and mortar.

    • victoria

      same!!! i need to go into a store to test things – when i buy makeup online, i tend to impulse buy and then return things because they don’t meet expectations.

  • Tracy

    Didn’t they just open a new flagship store in Times Square a few months ago? Also, I’m super bummed because I have a work trip to NYC next week and was looking forward to getting to an actual store while I’m there because they don’t have any stores in my area. Hopefully they’re really not closing anything till the end of Feb and don’t close any early.

    • Isabella Muse

      Yup! I IMAGINE that might be one of the ones they keep!? It says 02/28 so you have a good chance to get to the TS store 😀

    • Corey

      I heard from a source that their store in Manhattan will remain open as well as four other stores in around the US. As of today 1/26 i can confirm the closing of two NY stores.

  • Eraser

    Bad news for me because I love Italian beauty and it’s so hard to get here. If they keep their online business, that would be something but I really enjoy looking at the actual products, and there’s at least one shop in Las Vegas where I go once or twice a year.

    Don’t get me wrong: I do my fair share of online shopping if only because the retail scene has become so cookie-cutter boring over the past 10-15 years. However, real stores aren’t going anywhere. We human beings are still sensory creatures and we like to be surrounded by sights and sounds. We still prefer to examine the actual product we want to buy. Technology has evolved faster than we have, that’s all.

    Also, I would argue that brick & mortar retail reached a saturation point. In my part of the country, a couple of malls are closing but they were in rather odd locations to begin with, and in one case the demographics changed significantly. The mall I frequent is humming, so much so that I avoided it from November through January. One trend that’s gaining ground here (and I think across the country) is a return to small business & Main Street shopping. What goes around comes around, I guess!

    • Isabella Muse

      I’m the opposite. I tend to buy their stuff online! I dunno, lately I feel like retail stores are just going down hill. I shop online for one main reason, customer service. There are zero CS in New York. It’s awful, everywhere. At the bank, at Walgreens, at Target, at restaurants, no matter where you go everyone is rude, clueless, and lazy. If you walk into a store and ask where something is not a single person knows. Everyone is snarky if you ask questions about something or they don’t know the answer. They wander off as you’re speaking to them. and any other endless issues. It’s not technology that killed stores it’s the people that work there because customer service is down the drain. I am sorry if anyone who works retail is offended. I’m just speaking from my personal experiences in stores here in New York. It’s just really bad here.

      • Eraser

        You put your finger on something there… I’m doing some historical research about department stores and one thing I’m seeing over and over again in the articles is the need to return to the top-notch service that used to be a hallmark of retail. I worked in retail in the mid-90s and service was still being stressed, especially at the high-end department store where I worked for 2 years, but I don’t know what passes for training these days.

        • Isabella Muse

          I think retailers are some of the hardest working force out there but the problem is they are underpaid and stressed out and I guess that’s where the CS takes a nose dive. Not to mention workers in their early to mid twenties that work retailer just seem not to give a sh@t at all. I worked in some crappy places when I was growing up and in college and I always took pride in every job I had no matter what my age was. My dad always told us that we should always do any job we had to the very best of ability and work hard at it. And we took that to heart. It just seems like most people working retail aren’t interested in what they are doing at all. Hell, even people in high paid positions seem that way sometimes. It’s a shame because a lot of people don’t have a good work ethic and that sucks.

          • kjh

            Preeeeach… No longer will go to the bigger S, only the little, primarily bec the SAs are rude, self-absorbed, sometimes even answer social calls, which has to be against the rules. Plus, if we read up on you, Christine, etc, we are better informed than they are. S.t. I look at stores, but usually order online. Not sure that it’s open now, and certainly won’t be in March, but Providence is an hour away, for the closest Kiko. Getting to hate malls, too. Speaking of Italian, is Pupa still around? Glad there will be an online presence continuing. As to youth, it seems many/most are content to live at home, not contribute to the home, pay cell and car only, and think it’s fine to call into a crappy job, literally ‘Because I don’t feel like coming.’ Yes, direct quote, and that dork was trying to become a Manager! I GO every time to that low end minimum wage job, am pushing 70, have 3 graduate degrees, and have a day time pro job, because, eff it…THAT IS WHAT YOU DO. It’s the lack of values….and many young’uns seem not to understand the concept…that bugs me the most. And retail is riddled with them. No wonder I go as seldom as possible.

          • Robyn

            yikes..your privilege is showing….might wanna tuck that in. You started on the right path and then you just stepped all over it. I havent worked a min wage job in over 20 years but you know and i know that they get crap wages and treatment. No work ethic will make someone just accept that.

          • Isabella Muse

            I’m sorry, how’s that? I realize that min wag jobs suck hard but I don’t think you need to trash work ethic because of that. I worked at some min wage jobs that I knew were going no where but I didn’t just decide that I didn’t give a crap about what I was doing. I did the job well no matter what it was and how much I was being paid for it. I think I made like 5.50 bucks an hour at my first job in a craft store and I remember really disliking the manager because she was a horror show perfectionist but I worked hard at that store because she expected the very best and I was determined to give that to her even at a crappy wage.

          • chibi639

            I completely agree with you. Before I landed the job that would become my career, I worked some really crap jobs in food service and retail. The financial struggle and abuse by management was real! I could have given up like some of my coworkers (and damn did I want to at times) but I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. I take pride in my work. Mama didn’t raise a slacker. I don’t care if it’s a frappuccino, it’s gonna be the best damn frappuccino I can put out for you. Can’t find the torque wrench you want? I will double check in the back and if it’s not there, I will have it ordered and shipped for free. And in my experience, putting forth my best face usually resulted in better customer interaction. Of course there will always be customers that are straight jerks and managers that seem to only exist to make you miserable, but for the most part I really believe you get what you put in.

          • Isabella Muse

            amen. preach. I had an ahole manager at CVS when I was pretty young. She was in her early twenties at the time and I was a younger teenager and she had me clean the bathrooms. Honestly, when I signed up for a job at CVS I didn’t think cleaning bathrooms was a requirement (she also made me do the men’s bathroom by the way) but apparently it was one of my requirements working there. She never asked anyone else to do it but me. When you’re that age cleaning a bathroom isn’t exactly top on your list of things to do at work as you sort of glamorize your work experiences at that age and see yourself ringing up sells and not much else. It was a real wake up call when I realized there was a lot more that went into the job like facing the store, dusting, stockroom duty, and yeah, somehow cleaning toilets too. I remember going home that night being upset about it, my dad always picked me up from work at the end of the night to drive me home and I told him that they made me clean the toilets. And he said, Well someone has to do it! If that’s part of your daily duties you have to suck it up and do it. What do you think janitors do daily? What about dealing with blocked toilets? Who takes care of that? No one said work was easy! There’s always going to be something you don’t want to do in life but you do it anyway. My dad came to this country when he was twenty years old and I think he saw his share of crappy jobs but he still worked hard and made something of himself. If he can come from a foreign country, learn the language, buy a house, raise a family, and run his own business I can definitely clean a toilet or two without whining about it. It’s all about experience. You’re bound to learn something along the way when working retail or in smaller stores or even cleaning up toilets. If the work isn’t glamorous and the pay isn’t great that doesn’t mean you should say screw all and slack at the job. I think working hard def has rewards no matter the position. I’m glad someone also shares that ethic!

          • Lauren

            I’m with you on this Muse. CS isn’t what it used to be across a lot of industries. And as many mentioned, its not just hourly wage that motivates people – its workplace culture and management style. I always comment to my SO when I notice people are actually cheery and helpful at their jobs – because nowadays it is the exception not the rule. I do try to shop more at places where people are into it – whether that is a movie theater or grocery store or makeup or anything really. Vote with your dollar I guess. And raise your kiddos to take pride in their work.

          • Isabella Muse

            Preach. I think you’re right, sure money talks but also the environment you work in has a lot to do with it. If you have a great supporting manager and a good team of people I think it’ll make your work experience great and that will be reflected in the face you put forth to customers. Gosh, I wish I could say I try to shop at places where customer service is great but I am very sad to say there are very, very, very, very, very, very, very few places where CS is great. It gets worst and worst around here. No one knows what they are doing or even what they are selling. You walk into cvs and ask for a package of tape and the sales person looks at you like you have three heads. “tape? uhhhhhhhhhhhh….tape? Uh Jane do you know where the tape is?” Jane: “Tape?!” Uhhhh tape?” Aisle 3!” You go down aisle 3 and there’s no tape there so you have to spend 5 minutes looking for the tape because people that work there have no idea where it is. True story. It’s just surreal. And people want to know why everyone is migrating to online shopping.

  • Carolina

    I was surprised but not really…I love kiko…but I always bought my products on line and when they were having 30% off otherwise…they are too expensive…compare with drugstore products…glad that they are keeping their online store

  • chibi639

    Noooo…. There’s a Kiko’s in the Del Amo Fashion Center (5th largest mall in the US, woot woot!) , which I live walking distance from. I’m hoping it’ll stick around. It’s a small but nice store and the part of the mall it’s in gets a lot of traffic. It’s also next to a lot of other makeup stores, Sephora, Urban Decay, MAC, Lush, NYX, and Nordstrom. Oh, say it ain’t so!

      • chibi639

        I hope so too! The store has testers for everything! The girls are very nice and helpful and are happy to sanitize and prep any items you want to test. They’re also great at getting in the LE collections the same time they launch online, so I know I can go over and see them in person before deciding to purchase. I still love brick and mortar stores. I’m not enough of a risk taker with my money to blind buy much. I need to see and touch before I plunk down my hard earned cash!

          • chibi639

            Ugh! They DID close my local Kiko store. But on the flip side, it’s becoming a Missha store. That was unexpected!

  • Dee

    I’ve never been in one of their stores as we don’t have them out in the Rockies, but I have purchased from them online. How sad! But good news online remains.

  • Agona

    I prefer shopping online because I can look at the entire inventory and then use filters. But I still like to browse in stores occasionally (which I do less often because I find it hard to stay on budget when I do). But with Kiko specifically, I liked having a physical store when I was having an issue with their shipping because I could go and pick up items I wanted instantly (3 orders in a row arrived damaged; the free shipping is FedEx with final delivery by USPS and my local post office is terrible. I purposely paid for shipping on my last order to ensure FedEx delivery instead of post office).

    That being said, I think it’s been over a year since I went shopping at the mall. I used to love to do shopping trips with my girlfriends and browse & buy whatever–but I’m a lot stricter with my budget in my 30s than I used to be in my 20s.

    • Isabella Muse

      I used to like going to the mall too but it doesn’t really hold that much appeal anymore for some reason. I can’t stand most of the sales reps that are either clueless or way too AGGRESSIVE and I also feel like stores have really limited stock. There are so many unique items on a brand’s website and you head in store for a closer look and they don’t have any of it. You are kind forced to buy stuff online. Or they don’t have the size you want or the color and again, you’re forced online to make the purchase.

      • TropicalChrome

        You’ve really pointed out one of the huge problem with brick and mortar retail: they don’t carry half their products in the stores anymore, so I couldn’t buy them in person even if I wanted to! (Especially if you’re not a standard size – plus, tall, petites, they’re all moving to online only.) So if I’m buying online, I’m going to buy it all online, and hopefully hit the free shipping threshhold – and honestly, I look for sites where I’m not paying sales tax on top of that.

        Which brings me back around to Kiko – I first went to one of their retail stores during a trip to London. It had EVERYTHING, all the colors, all the products. Later that year I visited the one in Las Vegas (Fashion Show), and I was stunned at how small it was, and how limited the selection was. Then again, I don’t really like how Kiko has changed their product lineup in the past year or so, so I have even less impetus to check them out.

        • Isabella Muse

          RIGHT?! I mean I’ll find like a t-shirt or a pair of shoes I love but they do not have my size. Or like my deodorant brand is carried but the scent I like isn’t available. It’s like stores don’t stock as much stuff as they do online!

  • Brian

    I am glad they will remain online but I am not gonna lie, I am still one of those people that rarely buys anything online makeup and skincare wise without seeing it in person. A lot of the times I usually play with the testers at stores and then buy it online later. I didn’t even shop Colourpop until they had their Hello Kitty collection and that made me cave lol

    I was in the store again today and picked up the flier they had. According to it, the remaining locations will be in Times Square, Hollywood, Las Vegas, Miami FL, and Sunrise FL.

    • Isabella Muse

      I wish I was more like you! I tend to shop for everything online including groceries. Wow awesome thanks for confirming!!!!!

  • CL

    I’ve never even seen a Kiko’s store. I don’t even know where the nearest one would be.

    Malls started disappearing in my area even before the internet became a force. Bad decisions on the part of the owners seemed to be the cause. See what happened to Prestonwood Mall [I think it was styled Prestonwood Town Center officially]( in Dallas/Addison), and Valley View Mall (in Dallas). I’m now in an area where I have to drive about 7 miles to get to a semi-decent mall, and I’m surrounded by discount stores even though this is thought of as a higher-income area. Shopping isn’t fun anymore in my area.

  • Ryou

    I mean, I’m disabled, I haven’t left the house since November, and I live at the edge of the world. So yeah, 99.9% of my shopping was done online, for sure.

    I feel like it makes it more accessible to own a business as well? I don’t think many of my favorite small businesses can survive as a brick-and-mortar store to be honest. Rent is too darn expensive.

    It’s still sad that they’re closing most of their stores, but I’m honestly glad that they’re not closing up business entirely.

    • Isabella Muse

      tell me about it. I went to kohl’s to return something the other day and I was absolutely horrified that I was only person there. How do they pay that kind of rent?!

  • Cindy

    I am SOO bumed about this!!! I live within metro to the Pentagon City Mall and frequent the Kiko store! I’ll have to make a trip there next week and stock up on stuff 🙁

  • Lori

    The closest store to me is in Rockaway NJ, and that’s about an hour and 10 minutes away…I have gone a couple times though. I love a good drive 😉 I’ll have to see if I can find out when they expect to close and try to get out there because that would be one hell of a going-out-of-business sale!
    I’m not much for buying makeup online, I tend to like to see it in person if I can.

    • Isabella Muse

      oh gosh hopefully that’s the case! I’ll be going to the store if so! 😀

  • Silvia

    I prefer going shopping at the malls I live to swatch and see all the beautiful colors and things in person. I’m not much of an online shopper except with Colourpop I guess once I get to know tgexqualuty then they got my full trust. Clothes too I love to try in an actual store. Hmmm…yeah, in some nasty costumers service sometimes I went to return a jean at Fox Hills malls and turns out the label had been removed previously I had purchased at Glendale Gallery. Well this lady treated me as if u wasa criminal giving me the guilty crap. I wasn’t even aware of it and did tell her but still got the suspicious look. Good thing she kept the darn pants also the sizes run big on me. Ended up exhanging for another jean with a few embroudery flowers that kind. They are cute! Don’t show me flowers I fall hard like a ver like I collected all the Milani rose blushes and highliters when they were on sale. Lol! So pretty! And I do live them still. 🙂
    Not all are rude but this certain older woman certainly was. Sigh.
    I haven’t discovered Kiko yet and had it in mind. To the website I must go.

  • Randi MacDonald

    I love their shadow sticks. They rival Laura Mercier and they are made in Italy. I picked some up for 5 bucks and they rock. There is a store about 20 miles from me, but I’ve never been.

  • Rachel Runyan

    We don’t have any Kiko stores in my neck of the woods, so no impact on me. I’m glad to hear they’ll remain online and on Amazon.

  • Tracy

    As of 1/31 in Manhattan the Times Square store was still open but the one at the Oculus was already gone. On the website they are now down to only 5 stores listed so I think those are the ones that are staying for good and I’m guessing everything else may already be closed. The 5 that are definitely open are: NYC (Times Square), Hollywood, Las Vegas (Fashion Show Mall), Miami (Lincoln Road), and Sunrise (Sawgrass Mills).

  • Cil

    I buy online because I have no make store anywhere near me, but if I could I’d buy everything on site because you can test the makeup before buying. Let alone that here in Brazil, you can’t take it back to the store because you didn’t like it. Buying foundation online is no pic nic.

    It is kind ironic because they arrived in Brazil one year ago and opened 7 stores. All of them in the same city (São Paulo). Why? Who knows! If their bankruptcy arrives here it will be easy closing down.

  • BeXbv

    They closed the store in Danbury CT and I had a feeling they would because there was never anyone in there! Every time I passed by, it made me a little sad because the products are so good and I wish more people knew about the brand.