Celebrity-backed nail salon chain Glosslab, which experimented with a membership -based business model, filed bankruptcy. WHO: Glosslab was founded by former hedge fund executive Rachel Apfel Glass in 2018 to modernize the manicure experience with a focus on hygiene and efficiency. Its salons featured technology-enhanced services such as online booking, cashless payment, and contactless check-in and check-out. Glosslab offered an unlimited membership model ($125/month for unlimited manicures + pedicures). The brand also launched an e-commerce site selling a branded product range.WHY: The filing comes after a series of reports by the New York Post about failure to pay rent on some of its 20 locations and being forced to shut several down. Filing Chapter 11 gives Glosslab time to complete the proposed sale to VD Brand Holdings, which a bankruptcy judge must approve.DETAILS:The company and its corporate affiliates sought court protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and seeks to sell what remains of the business to VD Brand Holdings Inc., according to court documents.Glosslab CEO Rachel Apfel Glass said in a court filing that the business struggled after a rapid expansion, as well as the March publication of a New York Post article detailing financial problems and a legal fight with European Wax Center founder Joshua Coba, who lent the business $5 million.Coba was supposed to oversee the company’s franchise development nationwide.The company was forced to close all but two of its locations earlier this year and let go its entire corporate management team, according to court documents. The Flatiron and Tribeca locations remain open.