If you searched “Is Rhode going out of business,” you probably found conflicting results. Some headlines mention a brand shutting down after 10 years. Others talk about a nearly $1 billion sale. The confusion is real — but the explanation is simple. You are looking at two completely different companies that happen to share the same name.
This article breaks down which Rhode is closing, what is actually happening with Hailey Bieber’s rhode skincare brand, and what the e.l.f. Beauty acquisition means for customers and the business going forward.
Two Different Brands Share the Same Name
The first thing to understand is that there are two separate businesses named Rhode, and they have nothing to do with each other.
Rhode skincare is a beauty brand co-founded by Hailey Bieber, Michael D., and Lauren Ratner. It launched in 2022 and sells skincare products through its own website and retailers like Sephora.
Rhode (the clothing brand) is a completely different company. It was a fashion label founded by Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers. After 10 years in business, this company announced it was shutting down. Fashionista confirmed the closure.
Different owners. Different products. Different industries. The only thing they share is a name — and that is exactly why search results are so confusing right now.
When people see a headline about “Rhode closing,” many assume it refers to the skincare brand. It does not. The clothing company is the one that shut down. Rhode skincare is a different story entirely.
Rhode Skincare Is Not Closing — It Was Acquired
To be direct: rhode skincare is not going out of business. It is not filing for bankruptcy. It is not shutting down operations or closing its doors.
What actually happened is that in May 2025, e.l.f. Beauty announced a definitive agreement to acquire rhode. The total deal value is up to $1 billion — $800 million paid at closing, with up to $200 million more in earnout consideration based on future performance.
The deal was expected to close in fiscal Q2 2026, subject to standard regulatory approvals. As of the announcement, nothing had been finalized yet, but both sides had signed a definitive agreement.
An acquisition is not the same as a shutdown. It means a larger company is buying the brand. The brand itself typically continues operating — just under new ownership. Think of it like a business changing hands, not a business locking its doors.
What the e.l.f. Beauty Deal Actually Means for the Brand
When a larger company acquires a smaller brand, the most common outcome is that the brand keeps running. Products stay on shelves. The website stays up. The name usually stays the same. What changes is who owns and manages the business.
E.l.f. Beauty described rhode as a “fast-growing, multi-category lifestyle beauty brand.” That language signals growth plans, not a wind-down. You do not pay up to $1 billion for something you plan to shut down.
The numbers support that view. Rhode reported $212 million in net sales for the trailing 12 months ended March 31, 2025. That is a brand generating real revenue in under three years of operation. Acquiring companies buy brands like that to scale them, not retire them.
For customers, the practical expectation is that rhode products sold through its website and Sephora will remain available unless e.l.f. announces changes after the deal closes. Nothing in the acquisition announcement suggested product discontinuation.
The short version: if you are a rhode customer, nothing about the acquisition gives you a reason to think the brand is disappearing.
Why E.l.f. Beauty Paid Up to $1 Billion for Rhode
It is worth understanding why a deal this size happened in the first place, because it explains a lot about what comes next.
Rhode launched in 2022 and hit $212 million in annual net sales by early 2025. That kind of growth in under three years is unusual. It is the type of performance that makes a brand acquisition-worthy.
Rhode had also built real retail infrastructure. Products were sold through Sephora, available in multiple countries, and supported by a direct-to-consumer channel through the brand’s own site. That distribution reach made it more valuable, not less.
E.l.f. has a history of buying brands to expand what it can offer. Rhode fits into the premium skincare space — a category where e.l.f. was not fully competing before this deal. Buying a brand that already has traction is faster than building one from scratch.
The earnout structure is also telling. Up to $200 million in additional payment depends on rhode’s future performance. That means e.l.f. is betting the brand will keep growing after the deal closes. You do not build an earnout into a contract for a brand you plan to wind down.
The Rhode Trademark Dispute — What It Was and What It Wasn’t
Some readers may have come across news about a trademark dispute involving the Rhode name. This is worth addressing clearly, because it is sometimes misread as a sign the brand was in trouble.
It was not. A trademark dispute is a legal naming conflict, not evidence of business failure.
The dispute centered on the two brands sharing a name. The Rhode clothing company and Hailey Bieber’s rhode skincare clashed over rights to use the Rhode name in the beauty and fashion space. According to a Business Insider report, the legal conflict was about who could use the name in overlapping product categories.
This kind of dispute happens regularly when two businesses end up competing over the same brand name. It is a legal issue, not a financial one. It did not mean rhode skincare was collapsing or that its business was at risk. The brand continued operating and growing throughout that period.
Interestingly, the clothing brand that disputed the name is now the one that shut down — while the skincare brand went on to a nearly $1 billion acquisition. The trademark dispute was a side story, not a warning sign.
Who Actually Owns Rhode Now?
As of the announcement in May 2025, e.l.f. Beauty had signed a definitive agreement to acquire rhode but the deal had not yet officially closed. The expected closing window was fiscal Q2 2026.
Until the deal closes, rhode was still operating as its own entity. After closing, it would operate under e.l.f. Beauty’s ownership, though specific integration plans had not been publicly detailed at the time of the announcement.
Hailey Bieber’s exact role post-acquisition had not been spelled out publicly in the announcement materials. What was clear is that e.l.f. positioned the deal as a growth move, not a brand retirement.
A Quick Summary for Anyone Still Confused
- Rhode clothing brand: Shutting down after 10 years. Founded by Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers. Unrelated to skincare.
- Rhode skincare: Not closing. Co-founded by Hailey Bieber. Being acquired by e.l.f. Beauty for up to $1 billion.
- Acquisition vs. closure: An acquisition means a sale of the business. The brand typically continues under new ownership.
- Rhode’s revenue: $212 million in net sales in the 12 months before the deal announcement. Not a brand in distress.
- Trademark dispute: A legal naming conflict between two separate companies, not a sign the skincare brand was failing.
What This Means If You Follow Business News
This situation is a practical example of why brand name confusion creates real misinformation. Two companies with the same name, in different industries, had major news at roughly the same time. One closed. One sold for close to $1 billion. Search engines mixed the results, and readers understandably got the wrong picture.
If you are tracking brand news for business purposes, it is always worth checking whether you are looking at the right company — especially when the name is short, common, or shared. A quick check of the founding team, product category, and industry usually clears it up fast.
For more practical business guides like this one, visit StartBusinessPros.
Final Answer
Rhode skincare is not going out of business. The brand that closed was the Rhode clothing company — a completely separate business. Hailey Bieber’s rhode skincare was acquired by e.l.f. Beauty in a deal worth up to $1 billion, announced in May 2025.
The brand had $212 million in annual net sales and was growing fast. That does not describe a company going under. It describes a company being bought because it became valuable enough to attract a major acquisition offer.
Read Also:
