In a string of controversial online postings from Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe, the most recent may be the most damning as he announced that the company is closing immediately until further notice.
In the video, Truaxe said, “This is the final post of Deciem, which we will shut down all operations until further notice, which is about two months … Please take me seriously … almost everyone at Deciem has been involved in a major criminal activity, which includes financial crimes.”
Following this, WWD has confirmed this morning that Truaxe instructed several stores in different locations to shutter. For part of the day, Deciem also changed its homepage to a black screen with a pie sign — clicking the sign lead shoppers through to the Deciem site. By mid-afternoon, the web site was back up and running as normal.
One of Deciem’s minority stake holders is Estée Lauder. A spokesperson for the business said yesterday in a statement that “The Estée Lauder Companies is a minority investor in Deciem and as such we do not control Deciem’s operations, social media or personnel decisions. We are deeply concerned by the material that has recently been posted on social media and will defend our right as a minority investor.”
Deciem – parent company of cult brand The Ordinary – has always been built on the notion of radical transparency; however this move comes in the wake of many other erratic announcements from Truaxe on Instagram. In February he let co-CEO Nicola Kilner go via the platform, as well as in April posting a video of himself calling 911 for help.
Currently, Deciem’s Sydney store is listed as “permanently closed”.
