Deciem skincare brand shutting down because of 'major criminal activity', founder says

The brand has since closed all of its stores

Skincare brand Deciem has temporarily shut down after its founder made the shock announcement on social media, citing “major criminal activity.”

Brandon Truaxe, 39, the co-CEO of the company, which also includes The Ordinary brand, a cult-like brand favoured for its extremely-affordable prices, said in a video posted to the brand’s official Instagram page: “This is the final post of Deciem, which we will shut down all operations until further notice, which will be about two months.”

The shaky video continued as the 39-year-old introduced two colleagues before explaining: “Almost everyone at Deciem has been involved in a major criminal activity, which includes financial crimes and much other. You have no idea what a soldier I’ve been for more than 13 years.

“I’ve been made fun of as a porn actor and as a f***ing drug dealer and everything for 13 years and it’s all ending now,” he concluded.

Truaxe, who has solely run the brand’s social media accounts since January, also tagged numerous brands and celebrities in the video’s caption, including Tom Ford, IT Cosmetics, David Yurman and Estée Lauder, which acquired stake in Deciem in 2017, as well as Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

“A revolution is coming,” Truaxe wrote. “Everyone of you who has been laughing at me will certainty face criminal prosecution.”

The announcement was met with confusion on social media from fans of the brand, after the video was viewed more than 174,000 times.

The video was taken in a moving car and uploaded to Instagram (Instagram)

“Can someone tell me what is going on? I have no idea. This is one of my favourite brands I can’t believe this,” one person wrote.

Investors in the company also expressed concern following the events.

The Estée Lauder Companies told The Independent: "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 posed on social media and will defend our rights as a minority investor."

Truaxe first started the Canadian company in 2013 and since then, it has become global brand - with stores in Canada, Australia, the US and the UK.

Despite a steady business growth, with the BBC reporting that Deciem was projected to earn $300m (£228m) in 2018, this isn’t the first time the brand has been associated with questionable behaviour.

In April, Truaxe reportedly fired his entire US staff, according to The Cut.

After Truaxe’s announcement, all of the stores on Deciem’s website were listed as closed except those in Mexico City.