News Mania Desk/ Piyal Chatterjee / 18th September 2024
US company Tupperware, which is having trouble surviving due to declining sales, has declared bankruptcy.The company that makes food storage containers declared its intention to carry on with operations and that it will need court approval before beginning a business sale.
Many people use the 78-year-old company’s name to refer to any old plastic container since it has become so synonymous with food storage.It hasn’t been able to differentiate itself from rivals even after making recent efforts to modernize its offerings and appeal to a younger market.
The company issued a warning last year, threatening to go bankrupt if it couldn’t raise fresh money fast.
This week, the company’s shares have dropped more than 50% in response to rumors that it was considering declaring bankruptcy.
Demand continued to decline for the company during the epidemic, despite a small spike in sales as more individuals cooked at home.
Its profit margins have also been impacted by increased labor costs, raw material costs, and transportation expenses.
“Over the last several years, the company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” Tupperware’s chief executive Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement to investors.
Earl Tupper, who created the flexible airtight closure of the containers, founded Tupperware in 1946.Using new plastics to keep food fresher for longer, Tupperware was a huge breakthrough at a time when refrigerators were still out of reach for many households.
It was not, however, a quick success. Brownie Wise, a trailblazing salesperson, was instrumental in making the brand practically a household name. She created a strategy known as “Tupperware parties,” in which salespeople—who were primarily female—sold Tupperware to other women in their homes.
Tupperware is currently available in 70 countries worldwide, according to the business.
“The party has been over for some time for Tupperware,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Shifts in buyer behaviour pushed its containers out of fashion, as consumers have started to wean themselves off addictions to plastics and find more environmentally conscious ways of storing food.”
Ms. Streeter continued, noting that the company was negatively impacted by “serious hiccups” in Tupperware’s financial reporting, which included the misreporting of results for 2021 and 2022.
