The American Empire ain’t far behind. Everything has their day in the sun, but eventually flames out due to circumstances beyond their control or due to poor strategic decisions.
Tupperware’s stock craters after food-storage company warns it may go bust
Tupperware Brands Corp.’s stock slid 45% Monday to the lowest level in three years, after the maker of food-storage goods issued a going-concern warning late Friday, saying it has hired financial advisers to help navigate its near-term challenges.
The news is just the latest blow to the company TUP, -47.11%, whose products were once a fixture in American homes, made popular in the 1950s by stay-at-home moms who would gather at special parties to introduce the product line to friends and family.
The company’s website opens on an image from the Amazon Prime show “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” with the title character hosting her own party and showing friends a pastel-colored vintage line.
That direct-selling model is no longer fashionable in the U.S., although it has traction in markets like Indonesia, where women have limited earnings opportunities but often gather to eat and drink.
The company has struggled for years to retain its selling force, which has been shrinking thanks to the proliferation of other gig-economy opportunities around the world.
In March, the company told analysts on its fourth-quarter earnings call that the sales force fell 18% last year.
That wasn’t even the worst news from that call, because Tupperware had warned in its earning release that it had identified weakness in internal control over financial reporting and that it expected to restate prior financials.
On Friday, it said that once it finalizes its 10-K annual report, which is now late, that the numbers announced in March would differ significantly from the restated numbers. It expects to file the 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the next 30 days.
Then there’s the issue of the company’s debt burden, which has led to repeated efforts to squeeze concessions from bank lenders so it can remain compliant with financial covenants.
Due “to the challenging internal and external business economics, coupled with the increased levels and cost of borrowings under its credit facility, the company currently forecasts that, if it is unable to obtain adequate capital resources or amendments to its credit agreement, it may not have adequate liquidity in the near term,” the company said on Friday.
Chief Executive Miguel Fernandez said Tupperware had embarked on a journey to turn around its operations and address its capital and liquidity positions.
The company is looking for additional financing and is discussing its options with potential investors or financing partners. Tupperware is also reviewing its real-estate portfolio with an eye toward potential sales or lease-back transactions, it said.
On its third-quarter earnings call in November, Fernandez acknowledged that some of the company’s problems are of its own making. “The global macro environment continues to be challenging, and we are not executing internally at a level or consistency that we believe we should be,” he told analysts on the call, according to a FactSet transcript.
One key challenge is connecting with younger consumers, who are unlikely to attend Tupperware parties. The company started to sell its goods at 1,900 Target TGT, 0.62% stores in the U.S. at the start of the third quarter as part of a strategy of reducing its reliance on direct selling.
But those sales accounted for just 1% of total sales in the fourth quarter, suggesting the strategy has not gained traction.
One challenge facing Tupperware is price. Amazon AMZN, -1.47% and other retailers such as dollar stores offer far cheaper food-storage containers. In addition, Americans are increasingly shopping online.
Tupperware’s stock has fallen 98% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.68% has fallen 9%.
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They had their moment…then it passed. We use every bit of Tupperwear we own. Great storage and mixing bowls. Very expensive when fully functional and cheaper items exist.
It is now a disposable world. Tupperware is expensive and there is cheap flimsy replacements for storage containers like Glad and ZipLoc. They store inside each other and the tops can be snapped together too. I think that is what they were up against.
We have multiple Tupperware items we use and some are more than 35 years old. That may be part of the problem, they last forever if you take care of them.
Plus free replacements for life if and item peels or cracks etc. LL Bean did away with their lifetime warranty 5 years or so ago.
I always used the Tupperware bacon keeper for my pot. It was easy to use as a rolling station since the seeds would roll to the bottom as you broke up the buds for rolling into blunts.
I always loved the miniature containers they gave away at Tupperware parties. My wife’s girlfriend was a Tupperware dealer, so she went to too many parties, but came home with great tiny plastic containers that were perfect for holding a little bit of bud, etc. I have one still that ended up full of seeds over the years.
Took me 3 posts to understand what oldvet was talking about.
How about that blonde cutie in the illustration? She’s wearing a circle pin! Last time I remember one of those was ~1960 and depending on if she wore it on the left or the right signaled if she was a virgin or not.
The first sentence reference to “the pot” as my mind interpreted it, had naive me confused. Then I got it.
I inherited Tupperware from my wife; still have it after 45 years. Other stuff seems to come and go. I usually always look at storage when am at Costco but I don’t buy.
Tupperware management can salvage the brand but, from the article’s content, have yet to figure out what to do. First restructure the sales department. Next change the approach from in-home sales to internet based.
Oh, I thought the blond cutie in the picture was from the Stepford Wives!
Haha, me too! I’ve kept my weed in the same tupperware box for the last 10 years
“Amazon AMZN, -1.47% and other retailers such as dollar stores offer far cheaper food-storage containers.”
Doomed.
Tupperware stock collapses?!
How can this be?
I thought Glocks were selling very well(for whatever reason) in the U.S.!
Went to an RV show a few weeks ago and they had a Tupperware booth set up. Lots of selection to choose from. I bought a few pieces – although pricey. Can find much cheaper items elsewhere, which is unfortunate really. I much prefer quality over quantity in anything I buy.
I remember my grandmother saying she’d never part with her Tupperware – well, she actually did in the end.
Too bad they never branched out into the “permanent containers” (coffins).
I just reuse plastic containers that food comes in.
Can’t see paying $1+ each for containers that come free with the food in them.
Ones that are made to be used and used and used are generally better constructed.
Rubbermaid Brilliance is a better product. Clear rectangular bins, in various sizes.
The clear lids have a black foam rubber seal around the complete underside perimeter, and the twin side clasps seal it even tighter. Leakproof, in fact.
When the lid is pressed into place, most of the air is forced out of the container, keeping leftovers as fresh as possible.
But, not sure if they are suitable for microwave use.
Better off spooning foods into a Pyrex glass bowl or dish for reheating in a gas oven.
We recently bought some pyrex containers that had sealable lids. They are quite handy for keeping leftovers as you can see what is in them
Yup. Those pyrex container sets are awesome.
Q: What does Tupperware have in common with a walrus?
A: They both like a tight seal.
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Not a week goes by whereby the NJ Shit Ledger doesn’t report yet another 100+-year old company in NJ is going out of business.
And virtually EVERY time either all or part of the blame is placed on …. wait for it ……………… COVID! Frankly, this irritates the shit out of my bowels. How about they just admit they either have a fucked up product or worthless management? Hmmmm?
Great to hear the NJ Ledger is keeping you regular, Stuck.
or that we’ve cut ourselves off at the knees (or wherever) and outsourced the product to China/India/Pakistan/Malaysia for a $1/day labor
Well, to be fair, what useless fuck Karen would have allowed or gone to a Tupperware party in the past 3 years? Covid was one of the final nails in the well-sealed coffin.
I must be the only one here with a zero plastic food storage goal.
Second.
Antique Farberware steel bowls and 60+-year old Corningware. Oh, and fresh food, cooked and eaten now. No leftovers.
If they can hold on for a few more months the booming tranny market could save them
I’m not even over Oldsmobile yet.
This brought a huge smile to my face. I know I’m old when I keep wishing that things could just stop changing, dammit.
They prematurely entered the African markets and then failed to cultivate much interest:
Wait a minute! Tupperware still exists? I thought that company went out of business when housewives found out the hard way that the products can’t survive the microwave oven. Just like Melmac tableware, another product that was unable to cope with the microwave oven.
Bottom line:
Tupperware has been going away for the past 40+ years.