Disco, a male-focused skincare brand founded by entrepreneur Benjamin Smith, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Nov. 16, shuttering the brand.
The brand had been stocked in Nordstrom and Amazon, as well as available direct to consumers. It had also attracted awards and plaudits from GQ and Forbes.
According to social media posts by Smith, the shuttering has left shareholders with “nothing,” as well as disbanding its team. “Thousands” of consumers were left without products, and “countless” vendors were not paid, Smith said.
Disco was founded in 2019, and raised over $8 million in funding throughout 2020 and 2021. But by 2022, access to capital dried up, as interest rates began to rise and investors began to shift focus onto profitable brands. The company considered restructuring and pursued three failed acquisitions to try and save the business, according to Smith.
In his post, Smith said the brand “never resonated with men at scale” and that persuading men to adopt new behaviours is expensive. Rising customer acquisition costs were also cited, as well as overreliance on its hero product, the Repairing Eye Stick.
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