A leading investor in Gloss Lab says he is “no longer involved” with the struggling nail salon, the Post reported, even as store closures continue across the Big Apple. .
The New York-based company is collapsing after wild overexpansion backed by high-profile investors including Olivia Culpo, former Tinder chief executive Sean Rudd and The Chainsmokers. However, the company currently operates only two salons in Manhattan, down from six at the beginning of this month. According to the website.
One of the key investors who got burned is Joshua Koba, co-founder of European Wax Center, a roughly $1 billion publicly traded company with 1,000 locations. Koba has secured franchise rights for Gloss Lab in South Florida, which has five salons.
Koba, who was supposed to oversee the company’s national franchise expansion, also loaned the company $5 million, according to a press release, but Grosslab recently defaulted on that loan, people told the Post. .
“I no longer have any involvement with them as a franchisee or in any way whatsoever,” Koba told the Post. “I own and operate a store in Florida and a store in Closter, New Jersey.”
Koba added that the company intends to keep these businesses, but added that there are “no concrete plans for these businesses at this time.” [his investment]. There’s not much to say at this point. I’m still working on that. ”
Glosslab did not respond to requests for comment on Coba.
Coba’s Glosslab salon in Closter, New Jersey is actively hiring, according to a post on Indeed.com.
Two stores remain open in Manhattan, in the trendy Flatiron and Tribeca neighborhoods. That’s down from six salons earlier this month, including 860 Seventh Avenue and 1206 Third Avenue.
As The Post previously reported, the company allegedly coerced landlords in many locations.
Chief Executive Rachel Glass, a former hedge fund executive who founded the membership chain in 2018, said last month that the company is “currently moving to a franchise model and is working with landlords to that end.” he told the Post.
One of the company’s challenges, former employees said, was hiring experienced and licensed manicurists to staff the rapidly expanding chain. Some customers posted negative reviews on social media, complaining about failed manicures.
“When I was hired, they never asked me to see my license,” said the man, who worked as a manicurist at Gloss Love’s 7th Street Salon until April 11 and is not licensed. said Katherine Tenesaka, who said she was there.
“I never saw anyone’s license hanging where it should be on the wall. And after the New York Post article, our manager asked us if we had a license. But we were never asked to show them the actual photos. They took us at our word.”
According to the regulations, the New York State Department of State, which regulates the industry, says that hiring unlicensed nail technicians can result in a “payment of $500 per violation and/or license suspension/revocation.” It is said that there is. “Penalties may vary,” an agency spokesperson told the Post.
The Post has a pending public records request regarding potential fines against Glosslab.
The company strongly denied allegations that it employed unqualified manicurists.
“All of Gloss Lab’s manicurists, including Katherine Tenesaka, were required to show their licenses, which were kept on site,” Katherine Snyder told the Post.
The company “has never failed an inspection and has had to pay fines from the state of New York for violations.”
The company strongly denied allegations that it employed unqualified manicurists.
Stu Roeser, another Groslab spokesperson, told the Post that state inspectors visited all six New York locations on March 29 and that “all on-site technicians were on display at the locations.” “We checked to see if they had the required license.”
“The fact that Glosslab locations have never been shut down due to unlicensed technicians or other regulatory reasons is evident during this unannounced visit, and all previous state commission visits. “These facts alone regarding state surveillance and visits disprove the former nail technician’s claims,” Lowther said.
Recently, some Glosslab members who pay $140 a month for unlimited manicures and pedicures said they had trouble showing up for appointments at salons that suddenly closed or canceling their accounts.
“I’ve been trying to cancel for over two weeks now and they’re ignoring my emails, phone calls, and Instagram DMs,” Emma, who has been a customer for the past 18 months, told the Post. “She was charged $141.08 on April 15th, even though I emailed her to cancel her subscription on April 2nd.”
Tenesaka said there had been increasing signs of trouble in the past weeks and months.
“We stopped getting supplies like gloves and files,” she said. “At one point I had to buy my own gloves, but eventually I ran out of masks, and recently, the towel washing service has also stopped.”
The female college student, who has worked part-time at Gross Lab on 7th Avenue for the past year, said that after 9 p.m. on April 11, she and her co-workers received an email telling them not to come to work the next day.
“We have made the very difficult decision to close certain stores in the New York market,” the company said in an email obtained by the newspaper. “As a result, we will be parting ways with GLOSSLAB employees at these locations. We greatly appreciate your contributions to GLOSSLAB and hope they will serve as a resource and reference for future employment opportunities.”
